Class of 1991

Zack Matzanias made me jealous when he told me he took early retirement from Truist earlier this year. Immediately after retiring, he spent two months working on Richmond’s Greek Festival. After some relaxation and travel, Zack plans to figure out the next phase of his career.

My former Yates dormmate, Chris Phillips, was promoted to chief commercial officer at the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. (ATPCO), which focuses on airline pricing and retailing solutions. He previously served as vice president of global sales at ATPCO and has three decades of commercial airline and consulting experience at Delta Air Lines and Four Corners Consulting Group. His new role will focus on commercial initiatives and collaborating with the executive team to drive growth. Chris is based in London, where he has lived for the past eight years. 

Jennifer “Jen” Tepper Mackesy was one of four W&M athletes turned business and nonprofit executives who shared their stories in the winter 2024 W&M Alumni magazine feature about the connection between excelling at sports and leadership in the workplace. 

Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, J.D. ’95, M.B.A. ’95 was recognized as one of The Power List Top 25 in Inside Business magazine, a Hampton Roads publication. The article talked about his involvement with William & Mary as well as his leadership of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He is also currently co-chair of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable.

Please send me your news! I would love to hear from you.

In partnership with W&M Athletics and Campus Recreation, Jennifer Tepper Mackesy, D. Scott Mackesy and John Goodenow “Goody” Tyler III HON ’11 are funding the enhancements to Dillard Field, including the installation of new turf, a scoreboard and lighting for evening use. The revitalized W&M tennis center, part of the new W&M Athletics Complex, is named for the Mackesys, who made the project possible. Scott is a former tennis standout for the Tribe and Jen made four appearances in the NCAA Championships during her time with the women’s soccer program. The Mackesys are also part of a NJ/NY Gotham FC soccer team ownership group that includes several sports luminaries among them Eli Manning, Sue Bird, Kevin Durant and Carli Lloyd. The team won the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League Championship. The Mackesys also are part of the ownership group of Chelsea FC with Todd Boehly ’96. 

In January, Williamsburg hosted its inaugural Last Word Comedy Festival, featuring 50 acts and 150 performers over four days. Craig Cackowski performed as part of Orange Tuxedo, a husband-wife improv team from Los Angeles. A College Improv Showcase featured W&M students. The organizers hope to make the festival an annual event. 

In February, Mike Graves and Trish Davis Graves gathered in the Bahamas with seven of Mike’s squadron-mates and their wives from when he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, as a Marine Corps pilot from 1994-1998. Afterward, Trish and Mike went to the Kennedy Space Center and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 

Kimberly Dietrich Westrich shared that she rejoined the National Pharmaceutical Council as chief strategy officer last December. She works at NPC 80% of the time and spends the rest of her work week as a life coach and yoga teacher with her company, Kimpossibility. She said having dedicated time to help people improve their health and happiness has brought harmony to her life. 

Election season is upon us! Amy Padden is running for district attorney in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District (Arapahoe County).  

Muri Dueppen is running for the Carroll County Board of Education in my home state of Maryland. Muri is the corporate relations officer at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and both of her children attended Carroll County public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. She is the co-founder and co-leader of VOCAL Carroll County, which promotes increased citizen involvement in local government and good governance by elected officials. She has been endorsed by the local teacher’s union, the Carroll County Education Association, which is a branch of the Maryland State Education Association and the greater National Education Association. Muri has formed a joint campaign finance committee, the Slate for Student Success, with another candidate, Amanda Jozkowski. 

As always, would love to hear from you!  

Tim Harris and Amy Brown Harris ’91, M.A.Ed. ’96 have joined Tim’s parents and siblings to establish the Harris Family Study Abroad Endowment, helping W&M students access all that international travel can offer. The donor group includes Ruth and Don Harris ’57, Stacey Reid Harris and Jonathan Harris ’94, Chris Harris ’98 and Rian Harker Harris ’98.

Kathy Carter, who was previously CEO and is now senior advisor to LA28, the summer 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games in Los Angeles, helped kick off the W&M Weekend in San Francisco last June at Oracle Park. Kathy and Jill Ellis ’88, L.H.D. ’16, president of San Diego Waves FC and former two-time championship winning coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team, discussed their many years of friendship, how being student-athletes at W&M set them up for success and the importance of supporting the next generation of women athletes and leaders.

John Lee was featured in the Delaware Business Times last summer. He is the founder of Strategic Foresight Investments, a boutique investment firm focused on the future, which makes sense since he is the state’s only professionally trained futurist. He has written articles on many topics, including on the hot topic of the moment, artificial intelligence. His most recent book was “Foresight Investing: A Complete Guide to Finding Your Next Great Trade.”

Noelle Chalifoux Dunlap, Amy Yenyo, Carol Bowman Kennedy, Susanne Stagg Cooper, Victoria Chase-Walters, Rachel Heibert Warren and I got together for our annual girls weekend in October at the beach outside St. Augustine, Florida. As always, there was lots of cheese and crackers, laughter and cocktails. We also learned that Susanne can drive a minivan like she is in a “Fast and Furious” movie!

Right after she returned, Noelle, her husband, Jon, and her daughter, Maddie Dunlap ’25, were able to catch Alane Cameron Ford’s punk band, Crack Fox. The band is named after a character from the British series “The Mighty Boosh” and Alane performs under the alter ego “Rasputina.” Noelle said the band was loud, irreverent and fun, just like Alane.

Alane works in organ donation, in a role less than 100 people have in the country. She trains and leads the people who speak to families about organ donation when their loved one has an unsurvivable incident. She was working in the ICU units in the height of COVID-19. She contracted a significant case of COVID in 2020 and was working on respiratory rehab for a long time. Mad and frustrated at the slow recovery, she started writing punk songs. Alane, her husband, Phil, and some friends started putting her lyrics to music. At first, she said she could only physically sing two or three songs but they just kept practicing, and after almost two years, have started to play shows. She is part of a national group called “Punk Rock Saves Lives” that brings messages of health and wellness (with a focus on mental health), human rights and equality to punk rock shows. Check out the organization at punkrocksaveslives.org.

That is all I have! Please send any and all news my way and thanks for reading.

Stacy Osborn White is now the nursing director of emergency management and communications at VCU Health Systems. Her daughter, Taylor White ’20, is engaged to David Watkins ’19. They plan to get married in October 2024. Stacy is excited for her fall “senior roomie reunion” with Beth Peterson Polk, Deanna Putney and Suzanne Stephan Neely.

Susan House Schrock reached out to me and we discovered we are practically neighbors! Susan works for Johns Hopkins as a physician double boarded in internal medicine and pediatrics. She has been the medical director of a multispecialty group in Baltimore for eight years and was recently promoted to section chief of combined internal medicine and pediatrics for Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. Susan has two high school-aged boys.

In addition to being the 2023 Commencement speaker, Patton Oswalt ’91, D.A. ’23 won $250,000 on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” in February to benefit Alice’s Kids, based in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The charity works with teachers and social workers to pay for the small things that make a big difference to kids, like winter coats, new glasses and school trips. You can learn more about the organization at aliceskids.org.

William McCamey, chief financial officer and treasurer at Atlanticus Holdings Corp., was named a finalist for the Small-Medium Public Company 2023 CFO of the Year award in Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2023 CFO of the Year Awards. Prior to joining Atlanticus, he served as managing director and founder of Watershed Advisors and director at Wachovia Securities. He has his MBA in general finance from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Zack Matzanias wrote me about a Sigma Nu reunion in Richmond last April. Brad Haneberg ’90 and Vicki Lawton Haneberg ’90 hosted the event at their distillery, Virago Spirits, with help from Eddie Phillips ’90 and Tricia Holder Phillips ’90, Jason Hancock ’91, M.A.Ed. ’95 and Melinda Hancock and Zack. They had over 50 attendees, including Dean D’Angelo ’89, Chip Harding, John McMicken and his wife, Sarah, Adam Bram ’90 and Margot Stanley Bram ’90, Drew Geary ’90, Earl Wise ’83, J.D. ’87 and Cheryl Sparks Wise ’89, David Masri ’90, Karun Sharma ’92, Marcus Walther ’90, Ken Blackwell ’88, Doug Hechtman ’92, Jimmy Lowry ’90, Bill Tate ’92, Brian Daugherity ’94, Ph.D. ’10, Mike Vadner ’90, J.D. ’93, David Garland ’84, Mark Jenkins ’88, Mike Gunlicks ’90, Dan Kern ’92, Geoff Goodale ’88, M.A. ’92, Rob Chapman ’94, Greg Faragasso ’84, Alexi Papandon ’90, Juan Otal ’92, Chris Soholt ’88, Curt Overman ’89, Scott Roth ’89, Aris Bearse ’91, M.P.P. ’96 and his wife, Jill, David Milstein ’92, Bryan McGrath ’92, Mike Klesius ’89, Liz Fishbane Lyster ’90, Heather Guas ’91, M.Ed. ’92, Will Powell ’92, Ron Weber ’89, M.B.A. ’94 and Kenny Bjelstrand ’89. It was their first big gathering since the pandemic. Zack said everyone is doing well and survived the weekend!

Please send any and all news my way! Thanks for reading.

At the beginning of the year, R. Joseph Barton ’91, J.D. ’00 founded the law firm of Barton & Downes LLP with Colin M. Downes and paralegal Ming Siegel ’16. Based in Washington, D.C., he represents employees, veterans and servicemembers across the country in individual and class action litigation involving issues of employment, employee benefits including under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Best wishes to them on their new endeavor.

Congratulations to Carol Bowman Kennedy! At the beginning of 2023, she became clerk of court in Henrico General District Court. I am completely biased, having known Carol for so long, but she is going to be amazing in this new position. Her husband, Jim, runs a food truck in the greater Williamsburg area called FoodaTude … Food With Attitude, so check it out if you ever see the truck parked around town.

And a final congratulations to Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, J.D. ’95, M.B.A. ’95! He received the College’s 2022 Prentis Award. The award recognizes those in the Williamsburg community who perform extraordinary service to the community and have a connection to W&M. Cliff is CEO and president of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, chair of the W&M Foundation’s Board of Trustees and a faculty member at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.  

Please send any good news you have my way!  

Michaelen Kastantin Barsness has a new job — CFO of Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She has been working in nonprofit accounting for the past 12 years, but this is her first time working for an independent school. Michaelen lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her three children — one in college, one in high school and one in elementary school.

Michael Bloom is enjoying life in southern Maine and is working as the chief strategy and innovation officer for Incompass Human Services, headquartered in Massachusetts. He told me he was recently awarded one of the highest honors of his career — the prestigious, national 2022 Exceptional Service to the Association Award from the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). He recently served as the president of the Northeast Region of the Association.

Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, J.D. ’95, M.B.A. ’95 spoke at W&M Convocation last August to welcome the newest class at the College. Cliff is president and CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, an adjunct professor in the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, chair of the William & Mary Foundation and a board member of the Omohundro Institute.

That is all I have for this column! Please consider sending me your own update.

Tomi Herold, director of the Highland County Public Library, was honored with the Elizabeth M. “Libby” Lewis award last spring. According to Karim Khan, president of the Virginia Public Library Directors Association, “The Libby Lewis Award is awarded each spring to a library director nominated and voted on by his/her peers as the director who most embodies the spirit of service to libraries, her profession, and the public, as demonstrated by the Library of Virginia’s Library Development and Networking Director Elizabeth Lewis, who retired in 2010.” Best of all, the award is a frog statue that is passed from winner to winner.   

Last January, R. Ronald Johnson was named interim leader of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Salisbury Healthcare System in North Carolina. He has served as the director of the VA Richmond Healthcare System in Virginia since 2019. He has 28 years of experience in health care administration and was awarded the Champion of Tricare Award in 2007 —  the first Virginia employee to win. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and was the Virginia ACHE Regent’s 2006 Young Health Care Executive of the Year.  

Kristin McSwain was appointed head of Boston’s new office of early childhood in March. Kristin, who is also an alum of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, started her career as a teacher. She has been a top official for the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency. For more than a decade, she has led Boston Opportunity Agenda, a public-private partnership aimed at improving opportunities for city students.

Congratulations to Tribe wrestling alumnus Kevin Turner! He was admitted to the Petersburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April. He was the first four-time district and region champion for the Central District and Region, and first state champion in wrestling for the high school.   

Big congratulations as well to Hollis Clapp! She graduated in May with her Master of Social Work from George Mason University. Her daughter is a first year at the University of Virginia — Hollis said she is trying to forgive her for not even considering W&M!

Karen Wade Hayes wrote me for the first time (hint, hint to others who have never written in).  Karen is a writer living in Richmond — you can find her at karenwadehayes.com. She and her husband, Tom, just started their third child at W&M. Wade Hayes ’18 is with Capital One, after a two-year stint with Ernst & Young in Stockholm. He also created and launched his first box game, “Poetic License,” during the pandemic. Bennett Hayes ’21 just started a production company in Los Angeles, Celestra Productions, and is enjoying connecting with alums in Hollywood, California. Karen’s daughter-in-law, Hannah Van Essendelft ’19, is an artist in Richmond. Karen said she attended her first football game — W&M vs. James Madison University — last fall. Since their daughter is a JMU alum, they mixed some green and gold with purple.

Bill Fondren is starting a new career. By the time you read this column, he will have finished an intensive “bootcamp” on web coding/website design at Vanderbilt University, in his home city of Nashville, Tennessee. He said after years of radio and voice-over work, he is excited to move on to something new and creative. He also joined a blues band, still playing the bass.

Beth West is the new CEO of East West Railway Company in the United Kingdom. The new East West Rail line is under construction, and promises new, much needed connections between Oxford and Cambridge. Beth is a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and is an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. 

Dunlap, Professor Dunlap. That is what they are calling Noelle Chalifoux Dunlap these days. She started this past spring as an adjunct professor of digital photography at John Tyler Community College in Richmond, Virginia. She taught photography to middle and high school students previously.

A Virginia business publication had a quick article about the work Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, J.D. 95, M.B.A. ’95 is doing as president and CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The Foundation has partnered with W&M to relocate the Williamsburg Bray School, an 18th-century institution that educated enslaved and free Black children, from the campus to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Cliff is a member of the board of trustees of the William & Mary Foundation and was appointed by then-Gov. Ralph Northam to sit on the American Revolution 250 Commission.

I am writing this column just as I start the virtual W&M Modern Leadership: Reflections and Tools for the Values-Based Leader class. One class in and I am loving it! The course is 10 classes over five weeks with some incredible faculty and alumni speakers, including Cliff, James Comey ’82, LL.D. ’08 and Robert M. Gates ’65, L.H.D. ’98, and led by Professor Pamela Eddy and Michael Powell ’85, D.P.S. ’02. And I was excited to see other familiar faces in the class including Bonnie Joblin Crews ’92 and my fellow Kappa Delta Kristen Calleja ’93.

Congratulations to Steve Eubank! He was promoted to chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he has served as assistant commonwealth’s attorney since 2019.

John Nohinek’s law firm, Witherite Law Group, was featured in Fort Worth Magazine. John has his law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law. His law practice’s legal expertise is in car and truck wrecks. What I thought was interesting is that their attorneys attend a truck driver training school and drive 18-wheelers to give them a better perspective on their cases and clients.

In November 2021, David Bulova was re-elected to represent District 37, which is in Fairfax, Virginia, in the Virginia House of Delegates. He has held the seat since 2006. David has worked as a senior planner for AMCE Earth and Environmental Inc.

Carolyn Dilley Dempsey was also re-elected to serve a second three-year term on the Chatham, New Jersey, Borough Council. After graduation, Carolyn was an actor and singer in New York City. She and her husband, Brian, have lived in Chatham for 20 years and have three children.

Kim Dietrich Westrich has a new side hustle that is bringing a lot of joy and meaning into her life. By day, she is vice president of health services research at the National Pharmaceutical Council. She recently launched Kimpossibility, becoming a weekend life coach and yoga teacher. She is helping people who are stuck in survival mode see new possibilities for flourishing and thriving in their lives. You can check it out at kimpossibility.com.

Last December, The Washington Post had an article about Todd Boehly ’96 and Jennifer Tepper Mackesy. At the time, the two were part of a group looking to purchase controlling interest in the Washington Spirit women’s soccer team. In 2016, Jen and her husband, Scott Mackesy, committed money to endow the head coaching positions of the Tribe’s women’s soccer and men’s tennis team, the teams they played on during their time at W&M. Jennifer also chairs the William & Mary Foundation’s subcommittee for athletics and serves on the board of U.S. Squash. They are both honorary co-chairs of the All In campaign for athletics.

As always, I would love to hear from you so drop me an email with what is going on in your life.

I am writing this column just days after Homecoming and our 30th reunion. The comment I received the most at our class party — “thanks for writing the column!” It made me laugh. I do not have enough space to list everyone I saw, but you know who you are so send me an update!

Seven of the Yates 2C crew spent a long weekend relaxing at a beautiful house on the water on the Northern Neck of Virginia. Amy Yenyo, Noelle Chalifoux Dunlap ’91, Carol Bowman Kennedy, Victoria Chase, Susanne Stagg Cooper, Rachel Hiebert Warren and I relaxed by the water, enjoyed tons of good food and beverages and played a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity. We spent a day in Williamsburg for our class party and visiting Noelle’s daughter Maddie Dunlap ’25, who is a freshman. 

A few weeks prior, I was able to spend a beautiful day by the pool with Anisha Sheth Mason and Shuchi Sharma ’92, M.A. ’93 at Geralyn McLernon Sola’s house while Anisha was visiting from California. Anisha, Geralyn and her husband, Mike, were also at Homecoming. 

Mai Lan Fogal Isler met up with several other ’91 TriDelts in Cancun, Mexico, last year — Lauren MacDonald Wittstadt, Nyla Hashmi Reed and Dawn McCashin Perotti. Mai Lan lives in Boulder, Colorado, practicing law and working part time as an adjunct professor of law. Her daughter Anna Isler ’22 is a senior at W&M. Nyla lives in New York City and is founding partner of a consulting company called Educe Group. Lauren works at Educe from Baltimore. Dawn is also a lawyer, living in Dallas. They also attended the reunion together.

Debbie Levine Snyder took a new job as assistant dean of career management at Santa Clara University Law School, relocating to San Jose, California, with her husband, Kurt. Their daughter is completing her senior year of college at Indiana University studying abroad in Japan. Their son is a freshman at Stanford. The pandemic allowed her to reconnect with many of her Hunt 2nd freshman hallmates via Zoom. 

The magazine staff sent me a wonderful article on Jennifer Joyce ’11, who is manager of interpretive programs at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. Trained as a public historian, Jennifer works with docents and tour guides who interact with visitors. Jennifer did two virtual tours of the museum for the W&M Alumni Association during COVID-19 and, as part of the program, honored the seven W&M alumni who perished on 9/11, including our classmate Mark Ludvigsen.

As part of the All In fundraising plan for W&M Athletics, Jennifer Tepper Mackesy and D. Scott Mackesy will have the new state-of-the-art tennis facility named after them. They are both honorary co-chairs of the All In campaign, which has a goal of $55 million. Jen and Scott were both student-athletes at W&M — Scott in tennis and Jen in soccer.

Patton Oswalt voiced the title character M.O.D.O.K. in the Marvel stop-motion comedy series of the same name. All episodes of the show are on Hulu.

Melinda Summerlin Hancock joined Sentara Healthcare as senior vice president and chief administrative officer in July. She was previously chief administrative officer and chief financial officer for the VCU Health System. She has her MBA from University of Phoenix and is a certified public accountant. 

Eric Kauders is now the president and chief executive officer for Old Point Trust. Eric has a law degree from the University of Virginia. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Council on Economic Education and the Virginia Bankers Association’s Trust and Wealth Management Committee.

I was reminded that I forgot to mention my own job change in the last column … I am now a product portfolio manager for core markets and diversified solutions at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield — a long way of saying I manage a portfolio of health insurance solutions for large group customers in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

Congratulations to Dane Snowden! He is president and CEO of Internet Association. He previously was chief operating officer for NCTA – The Internet and Television Association.

Thanks to Brad Bunn for writing for the first time. Since graduation, he has worked for the U.S. Department of Defense, mostly in human resources. He has been a member of the senior executive service since 2003 and was recently promoted to vice director of the Defense Logistics Agency, a DoD agency that provides logistics, supplies and other services to the military, federal agencies and partner nations. In his new position, Brad is the senior civilian executive in the agency, leading 27,000 civilian and military members located across the globe in support of our military. In 2019, he was awarded the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive. In 2020, Brad was awarded the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership by the American University School of Public Affairs. Brad lives in Manassas with his wife, Deanna, and his daughter, Eliza, who is a 2019 James Madison University graduate, and their dog, Moze.

Susan Dettmar lives in Old Town Alexandria with her pet bunny Tenzing Norgay. She graduated from the University of North Carolina business school in 1995 and went to work for Deloitte. She left to work at a startup in 2003 but returned to Deloitte in 2010 when the startup was sold to a strategic buyer. Susan is currently head of mergers and acquisitions services for Deloitte Consulting.

Michaelen Kastantin Barsness had lunch with Sue Sullivan Babcock, Gillian Haskell Coppock and Lisa Green Price ’92 in the spring — she said everyone looked the same! Her oldest daughter started Loyola Marymount University this year. Her daughter Claire is in high school and her son Peter is in elementary school. She is senior vice president over finance and accounting at the Humane Society of the United States. She has been working remotely and worries what her two dogs, Maggie and Fiona, will do when everyone is back at school and work by the time this column comes out. Michaelen will be back on campus for a Wayne F. Gibbs Accounting Society event in the fall.

Alice Kalaskas Allred started a new job at the City of Norfolk’s Commonwealth Attorney’s office in June 2021.

Chris Dunn recently left the Virginia Beach public defender’s office to become associate attorney at law firm Randall Page, P.C. Chris hopes his college band, The Jesters, will be reuniting again for a Homecoming performance like they did for our 20th reunion. Members of the band include Ashok Subramanian on vocals, Jeremy Dawson ’92 on guitar, Biff Lyons on keyboard, Jason Kerins ’92 on bass and Chris on drums.

Jonathan Rubin is professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh. He was selected for the 2021 Class Fellows by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

The pandemic inspired Marcia Agness Kochel to have weekly video chats with W&M Choir friends Louisa Turqman Kenny and Wendi Gerth Buck as well as Louisa’s twin sisters, Liz Turqman ’88 and Maggie Turqman ’88. Louisa, Wendi and Marcia are all public school educators. Wendi is an occupational therapist in the Twin Cities, Louisa is a school principal in New Jersey and Marcia is a school librarian in Decatur, Georgia. Their beloved choir director, Dr. Lendrim, retired shortly after we graduated and now his replacement, Dr. Armstrong, is retiring after 25 years at William & Mary.

COVID inspired Kimberly Streeter Patrizi’s family to move from Pennsylvania to Topsail Island, North Carolina. She said they spent so much time at their house there during the pandemic, they decided to move permanently a few years earlier than originally planned.

Jim Lister ’91, J.D. ’94 and Patricia Haefs Lister celebrated the graduation of their daughter Margaret Lister ’21 from W&M this year, 30 years after their graduation and their marriage on May 11, 1991, in the Wren Chapel. Margaret is a biology major and moved to Charlotte for a med-serve fellowship.

I am writing this column on Inauguration Day 2021. At a time when we honor so many traditions in our democracy, I was thinking a lot about our alma mater and the many alumni and alumnae who have served our country, whether in the military or in government at all levels. Thank you to our classmates who answered the call to be part of the fabric of our democracy.

I did not get many updates this time. Hint, hint — this means you should drop me an email.  

Bill Meyers reached out to let me know he opened his own law firm in St. Louis at the beginning of 2020. His practice includes criminal defense and estate planning/probate. He continues to write freelance about whiskey and other spirits, and has been maintaining his sanity through Zoom tastings with master distillers and other enthusiasts from coast to coast. His daughter Maddie is a Walter Williams scholar at Mizzou pursuing a communications degree.

Similar to Bill, one of the highlights of 2020 for me was catching up with so many W&M friends through Zoom calls. From freshman hallmates to sorority sisters, I have loved the chance to laugh and recount funny stories. A crew of us from Yates 2nd Center are hoping to gather in person for Homecoming — our 30th reunion, yikes! — this fall.

Once again, I hope this column finds you healthy, and I hope somehow we all managed to survive the insanity that was 2020.

As I write this in September, I have heard from a lot of people trying to survive virtual school, whether it is re-learning fractions with younger ones or having a college student return home. Hang in there, parents! In a very funny Facebook exchange with multiple people, Derika Wells Mercer let me know she was somehow surviving her husband working from home, three kids doing virtual learning and multiple dogs running around while Kathy McGee Warren, Beth Speakman Bortz ’91, M.P.P. ’93, Hollis Clapp and I mused about how many pairs of pants we can still fit into. The COVID-15 is real! Anisha Sheth Mason said it best — 2020 sucks, 2021 better be freaking awesome!

Sofia Wolfe ’24, the daughter of Ron Wolfe and Christine Wolf ’88, is a freshman at W&M. Ron said despite all the changes due to COVID-19 she is enjoying her classes and meeting new people. Ron works remotely for SalesForce normally. Ron and I found out we have been living parallel lives — we both decided to use all this family togetherness to introduce our children to classic 80s and 90s movies. We both had forgotten how many gems exist.

A lot of classmates are sending their kids off to college but some are returning themselves. Susanne Stagg Cooper started her master’s in climate change and society at NC State when she sent her son, Will, off the college. Hollis Clapp is living in Northern Virginia with her four daughters, ages 9-16, a dog and two cats while earning her master’s in social work at George Mason University. She said she is praying the WiFi can handle having them all doing online school at the same time! She says it is fun to swap school stories with the girls at the dinner table. Plus she and her eldest daughter can take turns editing each other’s papers.

Paula Jeffrey Puckett had a chance last summer to take a walk through Colonial Williamsburg with Amy Brown Harris ’91, M.A.Ed. ’96. Along the way, they bumped into Kyra Cook.

Mike Graves reported that he (an economics major) and wife Trish Davis Graves (a business major) somehow gave birth to two engineers. Their older son Connor is working as a software engineer with Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, California, but at least temporarily he is working remotely from their house in Nevada. Younger son Brendan is a freshman on an Air Force ROTC scholarship at Arizona State University and is majoring in aeronautical engineering.

Bill Fondren and his wife, Mimi, are moving to Memphis in 2021 to be closer to family. Last summer Bill did an online interview about brain health with Fallon Jordan from Amen Clinics in Atlanta — watch it on YouTube.

So many of our classmates are public servants and running for office. Kevin Foster is a candidate for one of four open seats on the Austin, Texas, school board. Kevin is a professor at the University of Texas and is executive producer of Blackademics Television, a PBS program that features the work of Black Studies scholars in education and leadership. He has two children and earned both his master’s and doctorate in anthropology from UT.

Lisa Mathis has been reappointed as a member of the North Carolina Board of Transportation to represent DOT Division 8. She will work with the NCDOT staff to make decisions about transportation policies and priorities. Lisa lives is Sanford, North Carolina, and owns ArtStudio, which focuses on spreading art and design education to the next generation of creative leaders.

Several classmates banded together in September for a virtual fundraiser for Amy Padden and Ben Pogue. Amy is running for district attorney in the 18th Judicial District in Colorado and Ben is a candidate for solicitor in South Carolina. Guest speakers included KC Becker, speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, and Jay Jones, Virginia House of Delegates.

Nita Stevenson had the adventure of a lifetime — she spent January in Antarctica! She spent time photographing six species of penguins and lots of whales. She reports that animals are not afraid of humans, just curious since humans are as new to them as they are to humans. In her words, “it was absolutely breathtaking … the silence, the never-ending daylight, the truly frigid weather, the vastness of untouched wilderness.” She took her W&M flag to represent the Tribe at her landing on Cape Horn, across the Drake Passage and at several locations on the frozen continent. I can only imagine how fantastic the journey was.

As I write this column at the end of June, it is hard to know how to begin. Most importantly, I hope this finds you in good health and good spirits. It has been a long couple of months, and the planner in me hates how uncertain the future is. I would love to hear how you have been weathering this time. I have worked from home for the past seven years, so I have a home office and my routine — but normally not as much company as I have had lately! I was disappointed to have to cancel several trips, including a spring break trip to London, where we had planned to see Beth West. The silver lining is that I have been able to catch up on Zoom with several of my college friends on a regular basis — thanks Susanne Stagg Cooper, Noelle Chalifoux Dunlap, Amy Yenyo, Carol Bowman Kennedy, Victoria Chase-Walters, Rachel Heibert Warren and Beth for all the hilarious conversations as our teens and pre-teens help us to figure out Zoom. I have also loved the virtual events William & Mary has hosted for alums and the talks President Katherine Rowe has done. I encourage you to check them out.

Catherine Lareau sent me a message saying how much she enjoys hearing about classmates whose kids are also at W&M or are planning to go to the university. So — if you want to let me know about your child for a future column, please write! Sheila Rock Novak ’91, J.D. ’96 let me know that her son David Novak ’24 will be a freshman and a Monroe Scholar this fall.  Noelle’s daughter Maddie Dunlap ’24 will be a freshman this year as well. 

Susanne’s son, Will Cooper, is starting at McGill University in Montreal. Susanne’s husband, Kevin Cooper, is a Canadian and they have dual citizenship. Will is required to travel to Montreal two weeks early and self-quarantine prior to starting school. 

Speaking of W&M, Anne Leigh Kerr ’91, J.D. ’98 was re-appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam to a second term on W&M’s Board of Visitors.

Congratulations to Julie Richardson Agnew on being named a Plumeri Award winner! Through the generosity of Joseph J. Plumeri ’66, D.P.S. ’11, W&M is able to honor 10 exceptional faculty members each year. The prestigious award comes with a $20,000 stipend.  Julie is the Class of 2018 Professor of Finance and Economics. From 2014 to 2016, she was the inaugural director of the Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business. Julie received her Ph.D. in finance from Boston College in 2001. Her research and consulting activities focus on behavioral finance and its relationship to financial decisions made by individuals in their retirement plans. 

Mike Chadwick spent the last year at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk and just finished a master’s degree in joint campaign planning and strategy. In the small world category, one of his classmates was Paula Jeffrey Puckett’s husband, Blake Puckett. Prior to being in Norfolk, Mike spent two years as the deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. By the time you see this column, he will be back in Washington, D.C., to work in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Rick Chamberlain has been living in Fairfax Station, Virginia, for 15 years. He has a daughter, Rose, who recently learned to drive and enjoys swimming, and a Minecraft-loving son, Ricky. Rick has been working on the development and commercialization of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. He currently works for an early-stage company called Cadenza Innovation. He said for many years he has had the unusual commute of working in Boston, and now Danbury, Connecticut, for part of the week and from home a day or two a week. When he wrote to me, he said he had gone three months without getting on a plane — a record for him over the past 15 years.

Tracy Taylor Thornton ’90 and Dean Thornton have lived in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Homewood since 2000. W&M Choir and Botetourt Singer alums, they sing in their church choir, where both have served as Sanctuary Choir president. Dean is a radiologist specializing in musculoskeletal imaging with Vulcan Imaging Associates. Tracy volunteers at Kids Connection, a local church ministry serving children in need. During the pandemic, they have been in engaged in weekly online “game nights” with fellow alums Jennifer Noble Smith ’90, Mark Smith, Dennis Updegroveand Suzanne Gibson Updegrove, Ben Pogue and Pete Oelkers.

I corresponded with Stuart Johnson, who is a financial advisor with Raymond James & Associates, also in Birmingham. He has offered to help fellow classmates who may have questions about their investments in these crazy times. He can be reached at stuart.johnson@raymondjames.com.

Stay safe out there.

Mike Graves and Trish Davis Graves spent New Year’s in California at the Rose Parade to see their son Connor’s last float before he graduates from college. He was one of the operators inside the float. Trish said they’ll be empty nesters when their son Brendan goes to college in the fall.

Several classmates chimed in to mention how helpful the college weekend William & Mary puts on is in guiding their children through the admissions process. Noelle Chalifoux Dunlap and Anne Marie Dodd Kegley ’92 went this past year with their daughters, who are school friends. 

Kim Dietrich Westrich provided a good reminder to take care of yourself and get all your not-fun-but-needed medical tests, like a skin check. She had successful surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma.

Beth West had a Day of the Dead party in her home city of London to celebrate turning 50.  Susanne Stagg Cooper, Vanessa Smith Morest and Kate Wilson all attended. It sounds like everyone had a terrific time. Beth has a new job as managing director for the south region of Balfour Beatty UK Construction Services, adding construction to her array of different jobs in the infrastructure and property sectors. Beth also got to see Steve Harwitz in December when Steve and his family visited London. 

Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, M.B.A. ’95, J.D. ’95 is the new president and CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He worked at Philip Morris beginning in 1995, including serving as CEO and president from 2013 to 2017. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of 22nd Century Group Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company. He’s currently vice chairman of ChamberRVA. Cliff has four degrees from W&M, a distinction shared with only 14 other alumni since the founding of William & Mary!

Adolf Brown III gave the keynote address at the King and Queen County Public School’s annual convocation last August. He’s an internationally known educator and advocate.

Dave Meyrowitz sent me lots of news. He said several Theta Deltas met up in November in Nags Head, North Carolina for fishing and bourbon. He said the sea was angry, but the fish were not hungry, so there was no eating their catch. The group included Dave Bjarnason, Andrew Sugerman ’92, Matt Kirshner ’92, Bob Prince ’93, Doug Bream and Tom Beahn. A group also got together at Dave Bjarnason’s and Amy Cummings Bjarnason’s new house in Georgetown late last year. Also there were Bob’s wife Cary Morton Prince, Jefferson Smith ’92 and John Siner. Dave Meyrowitz, his wife, Serena, and their kids moved to Montclair, New Jersey, in September 2018. He said there are a few W&M alumni in his town including Chris Fritz ’90. He has also seen Heather Rotter Guas ’91, M.Ed. ’92 and her wife Jackie a few times as well. Dave’s daughter is in the Class of 2022 at W&M.

As for me, I spent a weekend last November with Victoria Chase-Walters, Amy Yenyo, Noelle, Carol Bowman Kennedy, Susanne, and Rachel Hiebert Warren. I honestly don’t think I have laughed that hard, ever. Keep those updates coming!

John Fischel’s law firm Brady Fischel & Daily LLC was featured in What’s Up Annapolis magazine for being leading legal professionals in Annapolis. John litigates cases involving real estate disputes, professional negligence, premises liability, insurance litigation and products liability. He went to law school at the University of Pittsburgh.

If you read the recent article about the alumni who are working the craft beer industry, we have our own classmate in the beer business. Brian McConnell and his partners founded Sterling Pig Brewery in the Philadelphia suburbs. They opened a BBQ themed pub in Media, Pennsylvania, in July 2015, then a taphouse in nearby West Chester in February 2019. They are currently eyeing a site in Philadelphia as well. I hope to check out one of the locations very soon.

Sterling Pig has won several local medals at the Philadelphia Inquirer Brewvitational the last two years — second place in 2018 for best new beer and first place in 2019 for best new beer. They also won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup in 2018 for Shoat, a German Pilsner.

Brian lives in Media with his wife Maura and sons Kieran, Owen and Gavin and his dog Oscar. Brian, Scot Carr, Kurtis Alexander ’94, Greg Imbur ’93 and Aaron Wehner ’94 spent time together in the high Sierras last summer, scattering some of Steve Lynch’s ashes. Steve passed away last winter.

Benjamin Dobrin was named dean of the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies at Virginia Wesleyan University. He also recently became a course director and instructor trainer, the highest professional training levels for diving, for Scuba Diving International, Technical Diving International and Emergency Response Diving International. He is currently the only emergency response dive instructor trainer in Virginia.

Paula Jeffrey Puckett is back stateside! After living in five countries since graduation, she and her husband Blake are living on Jamestown Road — she says just 200 steps from W&M Business School. They enjoy walking their dogs through campus most evenings. Paula has enjoyed catching up with high school and W&M classmate, Amy Brown Harris ’91, M.A.Ed. ’96, as well as Doug Mayo ’91 and Kris Pelham Mayo when they were in town. She is looking forward to seeing more classmates and Kappa Delta sisters as the years unfold.

As always, please send me your updates! I would love to hear from you.

Derika Wells Mercer won the Blue Door Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, in Louisville, Kentucky. The award recognizes a volunteer for her dedication to the mission of the Boys & Girls Club. Her whole family has been active with the Club — I love reading about her interactions with the kids they work with. 

Zack Matzanias and Heather Rotter Gaus ’91, M.Ed. ’92 both sent me updates on the Sigma Nu reunion that took place last spring in Richmond. Brad Haneberg ’90 and Vicki Lawton Haneberg ’90 hosted the event at Virago Spirits, their rum and gin distillery. Jason Hancock ’91, M.A.Ed. ’95 and Melinda Summerlin Hancock hosted a pre-game gathering at their house so everyone could watch the Kentucky Derby. The list of attendees was impressive: Adam Dobrin, Ben Dobrin, John McMicken, Adam Bram and Margot Stanley Bram ’90, Earl Wise ’83, J.D. ’87 and Cheryl Sparks Wise ’89, Greg Faragasso ’84, Will Lanier ’86, Bill Stokes ’86, Andy Yacos ’86, Mark Jenkins ’88, Andrew Goldkuhle ’89, M.B.A. ’01 and Sandy Heeren ’88,Chip Harding ’91, Tom Stewart ’89 and Julie Wagner Stewart ’90, Dean D’Angelo ’89, David Garland ’84, Dan Kern ’92, Doug Hechtman ’92, Geoff Goodale ’88, M.A. ’92, Ken Blackwell ’88, Curt Overman ’89, Michael Gunlicks ’90, Michael Vadner ’90, J.D. ’93, David Calabrese ’88, Brian Daugherity ’94, Ph.D. ’10, David Masri ’90, Matt Manning ’92, Jason Matus ’90, Matt West, Eddie Phillips ’90, Curtis Flynn ’89, Tom Fahey ’90, Chris Soholt ’88 and Chris Kaczmarek ’88. Zack organized the event. He has been back living in Richmond the past two years after four years in North Carolina, all while working for BB&T Bank.

Cheryl Morris also works in banking, having recently been named senior vice president and chief credit officer for QNB Bank in Pennsylvania. Cheryl has been employed in banking for 28 years and has an MBA from Lehigh University.

Ronald Johnson is now director of the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. Ronald himself is an Army veteran and previously was head of the Hampton, Virginia, VA hospital. He has a master of health administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. The hospital serves an estimated 200,000 veterans in central and southern Virginia and parts of northern North Carolina. It has outpatient clinics in Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and Emporia.

Most of us are turning 50 or have already turned 50. I love hearing about how people are celebrating this milestone, so send me an update on what your celebration looked like — a quiet evening at home, a party to end all parties, or anything in between! My celebration was an amazing family trip to Rome, Florence and Venice during my daughter’s spring break. I wanted to be sure I saw Venice before it sank!

The theme of this column is civic engagement — we have many classmates doing a lot to improve their corner of the world. K.C. Becker had been representing Colorado’s House District 13. She was re-elected last November and went on to be chosen as speaker of the house for the state legislature by her fellow Democrats. K.C. has her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and an M.S. in real estate development and construction management from the University of Denver. She and her husband Miles Kunkle have two young sons, Ryder and Leo, and live in Boulder. 

Lisa Mathis ran as a Democrat last fall for North Carolina House District 51, but was not able to defeat the incumbent. Lisa has been a small business owner in Sanford, North Carolina, for many years, starting her own graphic design company and ArtStudio, a place for adults and children to explore their creativity. She and her husband Brian Mathis ’90 have two children, Lacey and Carter.

Susanne Stagg Cooper has been living in the small town of Southern Pines, North Carolina, for the past 14 years along with her husband Kevin and children Will and Amy, both now in high school. She is currently the head coach of the Sandhills Sandshark’s Swim Team and has guided the team through a transition to the older pool in west Southern Pines. She has her hands full running a USA Swim Team, providing swim lessons, including Make-A-Splash lessons for underserved kids, and organizing the 2019 North Carolina Open Water Champs. The Open Water Champs is one of the largest USA Swimming Age Group/Senior events in the country and is open to anyone. She said there is a Poseidon 5K-3K-2K challenge, which I assume means something important to all the swimmers out there! As if that is not enough, she is also heading up fundraising campaigns to cover the costs of the transitions and said she will accept donations of any size. She hopes to connect with other alumni this year both near and far.

The Kansas City Star published an article about how a tweet from Patton Oswalt encouraged local residents to show appreciation for former teachers. His tweet showed a picture of Patton with his former AP Government teacher, Ron Richards, at dinner and said “If there is a teacher who helped guide you, track ’em down and buy them dinner.” The article went on to highlight several Kansas City area residents who did just that.

Paula Jeffrey Puckett and her husband Blake have been living in Cambridge, England, since 2013 for Blake’s work with the Department of Defense and Paula’s work with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. They have lived in six countries over the past 20 years, but are excited to be moving to their new house on Jamestown Road in Williamsburg this summer. Their oldest daughter just finished her freshman year at W&M. Paula is looking forward to hosting lots of Kappa Delta reunions during Homecoming for years to come! I enjoyed catching up with her through email.

Please send me any news you have. Or don’t have. Thanks to Bill Maeglin for letting me know “I got nothing. You may print that.”

As I write this column, everyone has just gone back to school. I loved seeing all the pictures of classmates moving their kids into their freshman dorms, including some at W&M. Makes me nostalgic!

I received a great picture of Christina Sitterson Minecci ’91, M.Ed. ’93, Debbie Bryant Pearson ’91, J.D. ’94 and Samantha Hancock Collins ’90. They celebrated 30 years of friendship and Kappa Delta sisterhood at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. All three were in mouse ears, standing next to Chewbacca. Debbie said they had a terrific time and they made it back home just ahead of Hurricane Florence.

Ron Wolfe filled me in on the Flannel Animals reunion in August at Pro Re Data Brewery in Crozet, Virginia. Scot Carr, Thom Didato, Matt Williams ’89, Brent Baxter ’88 and Matt Williams ’88 (not a typo – there were two Matt Williams!) played two sets of college rock classics from R.E.M., The Connells, The Smiths, The Replacements and others. Lots of alumni were in the audience including Lisa Applegate ’89, Tracy Edwards ’90, John McQuilkin and Kathy Cromie McQuilkin, Leeann Anderson, Christine Davis Wolfe ’88, Adrian Felts ’94, Drew Forlano ’90 and Cathy Fisher Carr.

I would love to hear your good news! Please contact me anytime.