Kudos! March 2026

March 19, 2026
By W&M Alumni Magazine

Congratulations to William & Mary alumni who are making moves in the world! This is where we celebrate awards, job changes, promotions, recognition and other career and civic engagement news we collected between Dec. 2, 2025, and March 2. For more updates from your classmates, check out the Class Notes at magazine.wm.edu/class-notes and in the print edition of the W&M Alumni Magazine!

If you would like to submit an item for Kudos, email the W&M Alumni Magazine staff at alumni.magazine@wm.edu. We will also share your news with your class’s reporter.

Awards and Recognition

Joe Brady ’13 was promoted to head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He previously served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator.

Heather Debby ’05 has been named a finalist for the 2026 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Selected from nearly 600 nominations throughout Illinois, she is one of only 30 educators honored this year for their exceptional impact in the classroom and broader community. Heather teaches seventh-grade English at the Disney II Magnet High School in Chicago, where her dedication to her students and craft continues to stand out.

Sam Pressler ’15 was featured on Esther Perel’s podcast “Entre Nous” to talk about the loneliness epidemic.

Milan Chakraborty ’00 served as an executive producer on the Shondaland documentary “Black Barbie,” which earned five nominations and won two awards at the 2025 Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program and Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Non-Fiction Program.

Job Changes and Promotions

Maurene Comey ’10 has joined Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP as a partner in its Litigation department. She will focus her practice on high-stakes white collar defense and investigations and complex civil litigation.

Todd Cunfer ’87 was appointed as executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Campbell’s Co. He joins Campbell’s from Freshpet, where he served as chief financial officer since 2022. From 2017 until 2022, he was chief financial officer at Simply Good Foods Co., a nutritional foods and snacking products company. Previously, he spent over 20 years in senior finance roles at The Hershey Co. Todd earned his B.A. in finance from Willam & Mary and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Dwayne Eanes ’93 sent this news via the W&M economics department: “I recently changed positions and became the director of operations and quality management at the South Carolina Office of the State Auditor.”

Susan Ferentinos ’91 has been appointed to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Board. In this role, she will help advise the museum’s director and leadership team on a wide range of strategic priorities, including exhibitions, programs, facilities, development and financial planning. Susan operates her own national consulting business based in Port Townsend, Washington, helping museums, historic sites and government agencies expand and diversify the stories they tell about the American past.

Monica Holt ’09 was named the next president and CEO of Des Moines Performing Arts. She also hosts the arts and culture industry podcast “CI to Eye.” She began her new role in January.

Christian Marsh ’22, J.D. ’25 made his on-screen sports commentary debut for the 2026 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, Feb. 21-22 in Louisville, Kentucky. Christian is a six-time USAG Collegiate All-American from William & Mary who has experience in front of a microphone as co-host of the “PODNASTICS!” podcast.

Travis Nels ’02 started a new position in January as chief risk officer at the AES Corp., a multinational energy company. He sent this news via the economics department at W&M: “After graduation I served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, left active duty to get an MBA, and have been working in the energy industry since, either in general management or corporate finance roles. … I also began another term as a member of the advisory board of the W&M Washington Center.”

Jayson Traxler ’00 was named chief executive officer of Pearl Meyer, a Boston-headquartered executive compensation and leadership consulting firm.

Nicole Wagner ’92 was named the new assistant vice president of gift planning at Virginia Tech. In this role, she oversees the Office of Gift Planning, a 10-person team responsible for collaboratively securing a quarter of the university’s overall annual fundraising. She assumed the role on Dec. 10, 2025.