Class Notes
’10s
Jason Rivera Ph.D. ’15 was named director of the Intercultural Center for Swarthmore College. The center provides programs and services that support personal and intellectual development; promotes systemic change toward a multicultural perspective across the institution; and fosters collaboration among diverse groups both within and outside of the college. He most recently was director of Achieving the Promise initiatives and of learning centers and academic support services at Montgomery College.
Dvir Kafri Ph.D. ’15 married Celeste Abou Negm June 18 at River Farm, the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society, in Alexandria, Va. He is a physicist for the Google Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab in Venice, Calif., where he designs and analyzes superconducting quantum circuits. Read the charming story of their courtship in The New York Times.
Hilary Fields ’14, CPA, was promoted to in-charge accountant at Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm & Doyle, P.C.
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Amanda Funk ’14 and William Joseph Lattanzio III ’11 were married May 14 at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club in Stevensville, Md. She is a proposal coordinator for Hickok Cole Architects, an architecture firm in D.C. He works as an associate principal with Wiles Mensch Corp. in Washington. They met in October 2009 at the Thirsty Turtle through a mutual friend. The two live in Arlington, Va.
Heath Campbell MBA ’12 was named president of BBT’s Atlanta-based Northern Georgia region. Campbell most recently served as president of the Kentucky region.
Michelle D’Ippolito ’12 married Nicholas Fabiani on May 29 at the Gramercy Mansion, Stevenson, Md. The two met in 2009 as competitive ballroom dancers (competing against each other). She is a graduate student in UMD’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Theresa E. Neiderer ’12 and Sean Bourne were married on May 21 in St. Louis Catholic Church in Buffalo. A reception followed at Delaware Park Marcy Casino, Buffalo. She earned a doctor of medicine degree from the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biological Sciences. The couple lives in Richmond, Va.
Jennifer Smith ’12 was named vice president of digital marketing for iFrog Digital Marketing. She most recently managed the national account for Toyota’s OCPe service and parts marketing program for AutoPoint. From 2008 to 2015, she was vice president of business development for OneCommand.
Eric Detweiler ’10 was named GateHouse Media Sports Writer of the Year. Detweiler, whose primary focus is University of North Carolina Wilmington athletics, took top honors in the largest circulation division.
’00s
Mareisha Reese M.S., MBA ’09 was promoted to chief operating officer of the Winters Group, a diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Bowie, Md. She had served as vice president since joining the firm in 2012.
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Vincent Borden ’08 and Dr. Lindsay Elizabeth McLellan were married June 18 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in North Andover, Mass. They met at the University of Virginia, from which he received a law degree. Borden is a lawyer in Roanoke for the Van Winkle Law Firm, which is based in Asheville, N.C. Until 2010, he was a staff sergeant in the Air Force, having last served at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
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Dana Ann Kinker ’08 and Keegan Collier O’Brien were married April 23 at St. Mary’s Church in Annapolis, Md. She is a director for W2O Group, a San Francisco-based public relations agency; she works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in New York.
Melissa Morales ’08 married Andrew Manion Lewis on May 7 at Long View Gallery in Washington, D.C. She is a vice president specializing in health care and health coverage advertising in Washington at GMMB, a strategic communications and political media firm. She received a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins.
Elan Mosbacher ’08 was named to the fifth annual “Double Chai in the Chi: 36 Under 36” list of young Jewish movers and shakers in Chicago. He is vice president of Marketing at SpotHero, which helps drivers find parking spaces. He is involved with the Libenu Foundation, a home for Jewish adults with special needs; organizes meet-ups for Jews in Tech through JCC Chicago; and builds websites for his favorite nonprofits.
Joy Peterson Heyrman Ph.D. ’08 is the new executive director of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She was most recently deputy director for museum advancement at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, where she worked for 23 years.
Michael Schatz M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’10, a noted computational biologist, was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University. He is an associate professor of computational biology, with appointments in the Department of Computer Science at JHU’s Whiting School of Engineering and in the Department of Biology at JHU Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Schatz came from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island in New York. Schatz has created many of the most widely used methods and software for genome assembly—that is, piecing together all of the genetic material for a single person or a species.
Greta Franklin M.Ed. ’07 was named director of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She most recently served nearly five years as associate director of multicultural affairs at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.
Erika Hall ’07, assistant professor of organization and management at Emory University, was named to Poets and Quants’ 2016 honor roll of the 40 Under 40 Most Outstanding MBA Professors. Just a year out of her Ph.D. program at Northwestern University, Hall was also named to the Atlanta Business Constitution’s 30 Under 30 list, and had her academic studies published in top journals and noted in mainstream press outlets including The New York Times and NPR. Hall’s research examines implicit biases of race and gender.
Chris Casner ’06 joined Baltimore-based Foundry Wealth Advisors as a wealth advisor. He previously held positions with several nationally recognized asset-based companies.
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Lloyd DeWitt Ph.D. ’06 was named chief curator and Irene Leache Curator of European Art at the Chrysler Museum of Art. He came from Toronto, where he was curator of European art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada’s leading museum.
Michelle Grove ’06 was appointed interim associate director of Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts. She previously worked as the performing arts program officer at the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation since 2012. She holds a master’s degree in arts management from American University.
Kevin J. Mulholland ’06 was named admissions director at Devon (Pa.) Preparatory School. The Class of 2002 alumnus was most recently a participant services administrator for The Vanguard Group. He is working on his MBA from Penn State University.
Elizabeth Schmidt ’06 and Krishna Potarazu were married Sept. 19, 2015, at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. A photo gallery of their nuptials was featured in Washingtonian magazine online in May.
Robyn Nicole Waltz ’06 married Ross Campbell on the beach at the Grand Palladium Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, on April 25. She is marketing manager for Matan Companies. The couple lives in Frederick.
Chanan Weissman '06 was named the White House's liaison to the Jewish Community, becoming the first Modern Orthodox Jew to assume that position for a Democratic administration. He most recently served as a spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
Jason Garey ’05, a financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as one of the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He had a seven-year pro soccer career with the Columbus Crew, Houston Dynamo and the Carolina Railhawks before joining the company.
Megan Mansell ’05 has been promoted from marketing coordinator to senior associate at Rhodeside & Harwell, a landscape architecture firm based in Alexandria, Va.
Joshua Samuel Polsky ’05 and Dr. Heather Ilyssa Levin were married July 30 at the Carltun in East Meadow, N.Y. He is a senior finance manager at Kgb, a text message and internet-based information service based in Manhattan. He received an MBA from Duke.
Dontá L. Wilson MBA ’05 joined BB&T Corp. as chief client experience officer. He began his BB&T career in 1995, working in bank operations while at UMD. Most recently, he served as regional president of the Atlanta, Ga.-based Northern Georgia Region. Wilson was named to Savoy Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America in 2016. He serves on the boards of the Atlanta Metro Chamber, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Ron Clark Academy and founded the I Am My Brother’s Keeper inner-city mentor program.
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Scott Aaron Friedman ’04 married Rebecca Anne Kaden June 11 in the Rainbow Room in New York. He is a business development manager at Google in Mountain View, Calif., where he develops utility and telecom partnerships. He received a master’s degree in international development from Tulane.
Katie Stephens MLFS ’04 is the new principal at Bernheim Middle School in Shepherdsville, Ky. She most recently spent a year as assistant principal at Bullitt Central High School and has been a science teacher for 17 years.
Sidra Berman MBA ’01 joined Tangoe Inc. as chief marketing officer. She most recently served as vice president of marketing for Savi Technology, which during her tenure won numerous awards, including Company of the Year and IoT Product of the Year.
James Maravetz ’01 was named creative director at Storyfarm, a Baltimore-based production agency specializing in online marketing videos and television commercials. He has led creative departments in the development of ad campaigns for brands such as Miller Lite, Under Armour, Xerox, LG, Vitamin Water and MetLife. Maravetz has worked as a freelance copywriter and creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi NY and Crispin Porter & Bogusky in Miami, and as associate creative director at Young & Rubicam in New York.
Matthew Jankowski MBA ’00 joined IOMAXIS, which provides technologies and other solutions for the intelligence, defense and civilian government markets, as senior vice president of business development. He began his career as an officer and aviator in the U.S. Navy, serving as a mission commander in the E-2C (group II) flying missions in the Persian Gulf and has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of military, federal and intelligence communities.
Shamim Rashid-Sumar ’00, director of business development in the Middle East for Jensen Hughes in Dubai, was named to Consulting-Specifying Engineering magazine’s “2016 40 Under 40.” She has more than 16 years of experience in building and fire code consulting, fire dynamics, timed-egress modeling and performance-based design.
Nada Tamim Ph.D. ’00, director of undergraduate programs in Virginia Tech’s Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, received a Certificate of Merit in Outstanding Advising Award–Faculty Academic Advising from the National Academic Advising Association. She most recently received Virginia Tech’s 2016 Alumni Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising.
’90s
Tessa Edison ’99, vice president of operations and business development at Answer Title, received a “Brava Award” from SmartCEO Magazine, honoring high-impact female business leaders.
Bryan Lewis ’99 was named CIO of the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System. He previously served as executive director of the $20 billion Illinois State Universities Retirement System and manager for the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, working on the state’s retirement systems.
Dr. Maulik Majmudar ’99 was named one of the 2016 Medtech Boston 40 Under 40 Healthcare Innovators. He is a cardiologist and associate director of the Healthcare Transformation Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder at Quanttus, a startup focused on transforming personal health via continuous physiologic monitoring. At UMD, he worked as a paramedic and athletic trainer on the football team and went on to receive his M.D. from Northwestern University. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a post-doc fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital before joining the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Christopher Smith ’99, an attorney at Thompson & Knight, was recognized in The Legal 500 United States’ 2016 guide, an independent referral program that recommends individuals and firms based on merit. He was recommended as part of the firm’s team working on regulatory/energy issues.
Jeffrey M. Lawson ’98, CPA, a shareholder for Stoy, Malone & Co., P.C., was appointed chair of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants State Tax Committee.
Christopher Mahon ’98 was promoted to managing partner of the Tysons, Va., office of CohnReznick, an accounting, tax and advisory firm. He started his career with the company as an intern in 1998.
Bruce P. Matez ’99, a partner at Borger Matez in Austin, Texas, was named to the 2016 New Jersey Super Lawyers list in the area of Family Law. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. No more than five percent of attorneys are named to the Super Lawyers list.
John D. Sadler ’99 was named partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s litigation department in Washington, D.C. He represents banks, financial institutions, lenders, contractors, homebuilders, real estate developers, commercial landlords, property management companies, insurance companies and individuals.
Andrew R. Smarick ’98, M.P.H. ’01 was unanimously elected to a one-year term on the Maryland State Board of Education. He is a partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a nonprofit that works to improve K–12 education for low-income students, and recently served on the Commission to Review Maryland’s Use of Assessments and Testing in Public Schools. His career also includes stints as an education aide at the White House Domestic Policy Council during the administration of President George W. Bush and as deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education in 2008–09. He served as deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.
Anthony B. Kirkland D.M.A. ’97, assistant professor of music at Mississippi State University, has had his new book, “Wind Band Excerpts for Trumpet and Cornet,” published by Balquhidder Press. It offers performance suggestions for the solo and first trumpet parts to many wind band classics and will serve as a resource for those auditioning for university and professional ensembles.
Joshua Riba ’97, an assistant state attorney in the Pinellas-Pasco (Fla.) State’s Attorney’s Office since 2010, was appointed to a county court seat by Gov. Rick Scott.
“The Art of Singing Onstage and in the Studio,” the third book by Jennifer Hamady ’96, was released by Hal Leonard in May. It explores the critical and often neglected issues of the technology and relationships in recording and live performance, the first book on the market to do so. She spent the early part of her career recording with artists including Stevie Wonder, Def Leppard, Patti LaBelle, Christina Aguilera and Usher, and is a longtime vocal coach.
Michael C. Wittmann M.S. ’96, Ph.D. ’98 was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. He is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine, where he’s taught for more than 15 years. He is a founding member of the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education and is the founder and co-director of the University of Maine Physics Education Research Laboratory.
Kera Ritter ’96 was named president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake, Maryland’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported youth mentoring network. Ritter joined the organization as chief of staff in August 2015 and previously spent 15 years in the journalism field, with positions at Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs, The Boston Globe and The Philadelphia Inquirer, before serving most recently as a foreign affairs officer for the U.S. Department of State.
Brian P. Woolfolk ’96 was appointed to the William & Mary Board of Visitors. Woolfolk, a principal with Swan Creek Strategies, has worked in government relations and congressional investigations for more than 20 years. He earned his law degree from William & Mary.
David Shapiro ’94 was elected shareholder at the D.C.-area law firm Paley Rothman. He is chair of the firm’s Health Law practice and a member of the Corporate and Employment Law groups. In June, he concluded his second term as a governor of the Maryland State Bar Association and began his term as chair of the MSBA Business Law Section. He earned his law degree at Catholic University.
Richard Harris ’93, a shareholder in the Philadelphia law office of Littler, was recognized in The Legal 500 United States 2016’s guide, an independent referral program that recommends individuals and firms based on merit. Harris is co-chair of Littler’s Litigation and Trials Practice Group and has tried more than 50 jury trials in state and federal court in financial fraud matters, securities law violations, cybercrimes and corporate tax disputes.
Darren Brandt ’92 has been named co-chief executive officer of the corporate and financial communications specialist Sloane & Company. He has been with the company since 1998, and advises clients on corporate positioning and media relations, issues management and mergers and acquisitions, managing clients including athenahealth and Walgreens.
Ashwin Ballal Ph.D. ’92 was appointed the first chief information officer at Medallia, a global customer experience management company. He had most recently been chief information, intelligence and data officer for KLA-Tencor.
Mei Xu ’92 of Chesapeake Bay Candle was named one of the 2016 Most Admired CEOs by The Daily Record, honoring talented business CEOs and nonprofit executive directors throughout Maryland for their leadership and professionalism.
Charles Cush ’91 was appointed to the Naperville (Ill.) Unit District 203 school board. He has worked in the health care field for more than 20 years, most recently as vice president of global nutrition for Baxter Healthcare Corporation in Deerfield. Cush and his family have lived in Naperville since 2010; he has two daughters who will attend Naperville North High School this fall. He has also written a children’s book called “From Acorns to Oak Trees,” which encourages children that they can achieve anything they choose to pursue.
Leo Li Ph.D. ’91 was named chairman of the Global Semiconductor Alliance Board of Directors for 2016 and 2017. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Spreadtrum Communications. He is the first board chairman to serve from mainland China.
Jennifer Scofield ’91, M.A. ’97 was named executive director of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, a network of hunger centers throughout Cuyahoga County. Most recently, she consulted on community health projects, and previously she worked for four years with the Cuyahoga County Executive’s Office, where she developed and managed a performance measurement system, designed special projects in community health and directed regional collaboration efforts.
Zeta Smith ’91 was named a divisional senior vice president for Starbucks Coffee Co., one of the top five field leaders for the global coffee retailer. Her territory encompasses 25 states and 2,270 stores. Smith joined Starbucks in 2006 as regional director for its New York metro region. Before that, Smith spent 15 years with ExxonMobil in its retail operations.
Dawn Doebler MBA ’90 joined Bridgewater Wealth & Financial Management as a senior wealth advisor and director of education. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, where she has been a featured conference speaker. Doebler also serves as treasurer for Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland. She and her two children live in North Potomac, Md.
’80s
Jon Olson ’89 was named regional manager for the Boston area for Business Wire. His 18-year career in sales management started at Thomson Reuters, initially as an account manager in Los Angeles and progressing to director of national sales in Chicago and vice president of customer relations in Boston. Most recently, Olson managed regional sales organizations at Valeant, Allergan and SkinMedica.David Stern ’89 joined Destination Maternity Corp. as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He most recently served for four years in the same position at Pep Boys and has also held high-level roles at A.C. Moore Arts and Crafts, Coldwater Creek and Petco Services. Stern serves on the boards of Beck and Camp Ockanickon, a not-for-profit camp for children. He has an MBA from Wake Forest University.
Nicholas Naclerio Ph.D. ’87 joined the board of directors of Baebies, a company focused on advancing newborn screening and pediatric testing. He is the founding partner of Illumina Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.
Patrick A. Ball ’86 was promoted to chief probation officer at Clinton (Mass.) District Court. He began working in the court in 2000, and had served as assistant chief probation officer since 2006.
Buno Pati ’86, Ph.D. ’92 has joined Centerview Capital Technology Management as a partner. He has served as an adviser to the firm since 2014. Pati founded and served as chief executive officer of Numerical Technologies and helped launch Nexus Venture Partners, a pioneer in Indian venture capital, and founded and served as CEO of Sezmi Corp.
Patricia Henning M.S. ’86, Ph.D. ’90 was named interim associate vice president for research at the University of New Mexico. She is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The appointment is effective immediately. Henning is an extragalactic radio astronomer, specializing in the study of large-scale structure of the universe behind the Milky Way.
John “Jack” Callahan ’85, M.S. ’87, Ph.D. ’93 was named chief technology officer at Hoyos Labs, which provides biometrics-based authentication solutions. He previously served as associate director for information dominance at the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research and is also the former vice president of engineering and CTO of Baltimore-based BDMetrics.
Susan Forscher Weiss Ph.D. ’85 is one of three editors of “A Cole Porter Companion,” which features essays by performers and scholars on little-known aspects of the tunesmith’s life and art. She is a professor of musicology and German and romance languages and literature at the Johns Hopkins University and editor of Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Jim Bond ’84 joined Gallagher Bassett Services as chief financial officer. He spent 10 years at ESIS Inc., a division of ACE USA, in Philadelphia, where he was CFO and chief operating officer. Other experience includes serving as the CFO at Cunningham Lindsey, US, as well as at Cambridge Integrated Services Group.
Andrew Dodge ’84 was named chief engineer and director of emergency management for the Maryland Public Service Commission. He most recently was vice president of technical services at Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., the position from which he retired in December.
John Harbison M.L.S. ’83 was named executive vice president for LAC Group’s LibSource business unit. LibSource delivers Library as a Service solutions (LaaS) for research, business intelligence and other information center needs. Harbison joins LibSource from Covington & Burling, where he spent more than a decade directing the law library and information management function.
Cavan Redmond ’83 joined the board of trustees at the Wistar Institute. He is the senior partner at Zarsy LLC, a health care advisory company. Prior to Zarsy, Redmond was chief executive officer of WebMD. He also serves on the board of the Arthritis Foundation.
Margaret Grover ’80, an attorney at the Oakland, Calif., law firm of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP, has been named to 2016 Northern California Super Lawyers. She practices in the area of employment and labor.
’70s
Suzanne Robotti ’79 was elected to the Springfield College (Mass.) board of trustees. She is former owner and publisher of Baby Publishing LLC, and founder and president of Medshadow Foundation, a nonprofit website that gathers information on medicine side effects. She is also a co-founder of the Family Advisory Council at Springfield College.John Cove ’78 joined the San Francisco Bay area law firm Shearman & Sterling. He came from Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, where he specialized in federal and state antitrust cases. Before then, Cove was a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Jim Kahn M.A. ’78, Ph.D. ’81, the John F. Hendon Professor of Economics and director of environmental studies at Washington and Lee University, was named president-elect of the United States Society for Ecological Economics.
Gary Tabach ’77, managing partner of Greater Washington of Deloitte & Touche LLP, was named to the Washington Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Washingtonian magazine. The honor recognizes individuals from the region’s business community for their philanthropic and professional contributions.
Karen B. Salmon M.Ed. ’76, Ph.D. ’86 was named the state’s next state superintendent of schools. She most recently served as acting deputy state superintendent for school effectiveness and previously was superintendent of the Bay Shore Union Free School District in Bay Shore, N.Y. Before that she ran the high-performing Talbot County Public School System and was named Superintendent of the Year in 2012. Salmon spent more than 30 years as an educator on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Raymond G. Hebert ’75, dean emeritus of Thomas More College, has been named the first executive director of the Thomas More College Institute for Religious Liberty. He was dean and vice president for academic affairs at TMC for 14 years before returning to the classroom in 2001, and served as chair of the History, International Studies and Political Science Department from 2001¬–08. His teaching specialty is in Modern European History and his expertise is primarily in the British Isles.
Preston Romm ’75 was appointed chief operating officer of Suneva Medical, a privately held aesthetics company. He previously served as president of Obagi Medical Products and senior vice president of Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
The Fairfax County (Va.) School Board elected Sandy Evans ’74 as chair for a one-year term. She has served on the board since 2010 and is also a member of the steering committee of the Northern Virginia Healthy Kids Coalition; founding member of the Fairfax Education Coalition; and co-founder of Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal (SLEEP). She served as the legislation committee chair of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and as president of the Sleepy Hollow Elementary School PTA, and is a former staff writer for The Washington Post.
Peggy S. Meszaros Ph.D. ’74, the William E. Lavery Professor of Human Development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and former provost at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of William E. Lavery Professor Emerita of Human Development and Provost Emerita. A member of the university community since 1993, Meszaros served Virginia Tech as dean of the College of Human Resources, senior vice president and provost from 1995 to 2000, and founding director of the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth and Families.
Steven E. Calvery ’73 retired from his decade-long post as director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. His accomplishments include modernizing physical security capabilities and implementing a sophisticated chemical biological radiological defense monitoring program. He previously held law-enforcement leadership posts with the Department of Interior, Department of the Treasury and Department of Justice and served 21 years in the U.S. Secret Service and as an Army combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam.
’70s
Neil Reichenberg ’73, director of the International Public Management Association for HR (IPMA-HR), joined the board of advisors at the Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. He has worked for the human management resource association since 1980, initially as the director of government affairs and taking over as executive director in 1996. He has presented papers at international conferences and United Nations meetings, and has testified before Congress.
Leslie Fishbone Ph.D. '72 celebrated his 70th birthday with a trek to the rim of summit crater (18,885 feet up!) of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He's mostly retired from a career in nuclear material safeguards.
J. Samuel Walker M.A. ’71, Ph.D. ’74 has written “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan.”
’60s
Bonnie Ward ’69, Ph.D. ’94 was appointed to the Summit (Colo.) School District’s board of education. She spent 40 years working in education, including as a chief administrator of Frederick County’s school system as well as superintendent of Kent County’s schools. That followed 30 years as a high school math and computer science teacher and curriculum specialist. For the past six years, she’s been working as a mentor coordinator with Summit’s Pre-Collegiate Program, which assists kids who are the first in their families to attend college.
Tobin J. Marks Ph.D. ’66, Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry and professor of applied physics at Northwestern University, has been awarded the Priestly Medal from the American Chemical Society. It is the highest honor bestowed by the world’s largest scientific society. Throughout his 50-year career, Marks has made major contributions in the field of material chemical science, specifically catalysis, electronic materials and organometallic chemistry. Marks’ landmark research is documented in 1,195 publications and 232 U.S. patents.
“Spies, Scouts and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligence Impacted the Outcome of Lee’s Invasion of the North, June–July 1863,” by Thomas J. Ryan ’62, won the Robert E. Lee Civil War Round Table of Central New Jersey’s 2016 Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award. The book was selected for its exceptional level of “new scholarship on a subject matter that has not received much attention.” He has published more than 125 articles and book reviews on Civil War subjects, and is retired from a career in intelligence operations-related capacities.
’50s
Retired Army Col. Manuel F. Siverio Sr. '50 received the Congressional Gold Medal in April as a veteran of the all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers. They fought in World Wars I and II and the Korean War, most notably at the Battle of Choisin Reservoir alongside U.S. Marines.
PASSINGS Mel Williams Ph.D. ’98, an Old Dominion University professor who helped found the Tidewater Striders running club and whose research in exercise science helped convince Olympic officials to ban blood doping, died of bone cancer May 19, according to The Virginian-Pilot. He was 78. Williams played football and wrestled at East Stroudsburg State, where he became infatuated with the study of sports performance enhancement after a teammate collapsed from an overdose of amphetamines. After earning a master’s degree at Ohio University and a doctorate from UMD, Williams came to ODU in 1968, where he founded the Human Performance Laboratory and Wellness Institute. He was among the first to document the health risks associated with using steroids. His research contributed to the Olympic Committee’s 1985 decision to ban blood doping—the injection of red blood cells into an athlete's body to increase oxygen. He published his first of 10 books, “Drugs and Athletic Performance,” in 1974. He was an international lecturer on exercise science who in 1991 founded the International Journal of Sports Nutrition. He retired from ODU in 1997, but continued to lecture, write and, of course, run. In 1972, Williams joined 14 others in founding the Tidewater Striders. Today, it has 1,600 members, making it one of the nation’s largest road-racing organizations. Williams finished more than 100 marathons, clocking a career best of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 49 seconds in 1982. He was among four people, nicknamed “the Groundpounders,” to run in every Marine Corps Marathon from 1976 until health issues forced him to stop a few years ago. He won his age group in the Boston Marathon at ages 51, 60 and 61. Williams is survived by his wife, Jeanne Kruger-Williams, who ran in both the New York and Boston marathons with her husband.
Ari Bluman ’94, a highly regarded digital media executive known for his brash, blunt statements, died of cancer May 25. He was 44. He was most recently chief digital investment officer at WPP-owned GroupM. Before that, he held a wide range of roles at 24/7 Media, including president of the North America region. He is survived by his wife, Deb, and their family.
Kenny Kramm ’84, who concocted a flavored additive for his infant daughter’s anti-seizure drug that has since helped make the medicine go down for millions of children, died July 12 in a Washington, D.C., hospital as a result of an infection, according to The Washington Post. He was 55. Kenneth Lee Kramm grew up in Potomac, Md., where he graduated from Winston Churchill High School in 1979. Kramm grew up working at his family’s business, Center Pharmacy, in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Washington. After graduating from UMD, Kramm began his career as an art director for a Georgetown ad agency but “just didn’t like advertising,” he told The Washington Post. “I went back to the pharmacy to get my head together and I realized I wanted to stay at the pharmacy.” He had joined the operation as a business manager by 1992, when he and his wife had their second daughter, Hadley. Severely premature, she suffered from life-threatening seizures that required four doses per day of phenobarbital, a foul-tasting drug that she would often throw up. Shelley Kramm begged her husband to search the resources of the family pharmacy for a way of making the drug more palatable for Hadley. Working with his father, Kramm tested an array of candy flavorings with the phenobarbital until they found one—banana—that Hadley would swallow. The Kramms began offering dozens of flavored additives for prescriptions at their pharmacy. Kramm became chief executive of FLAVORx and began licensing the product first to other independent pharmacies and later to chains such as CVS, Walgreens, Safeway and Rite Aid. By 2007, Mr. Kramm told reporters, FLAVORx products were sold in half of all U.S. pharmacies, as well as in Canada and Australia, and had been used in 40 million prescriptions. He sold FLAVORx about a decade ago. Outside of his work, he helped his wife, Shelley Kramm ’84, in a campaign to build wheelchair-accessible playgrounds for children. They were married for 31 years. Other survivors include two daughters, Sarah Spund and Hadley Kramm; his parents, Harold and Judy Kramm of Washington; and a sister, Harriet Pitler, also of Washington.
Silvana Petrucelli Martirano ’83 of Dowell, Md., died May 30. She was 54. Born in Allentown, Pa., she graduated from UMD then married Michael J. Martirano in 1984. She worked for 11 years as an accountant in the mortgage banking industry, where she achieved the rank of assistant controller with Ryland Homes Mortgage. She enjoyed raising her three children; cooking, particularly Italian dishes; reading; and entertaining family and friends. She also supported her husband in his career as superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools and later for West Virginia. She is survived by her husband; children Maria Ann Martirano, Vincent Michael Martirano and Gina Marie Martirano; mother, Maria D’Avella Petruccelli; siblings Joseph Petruccelli, Anna Schweitzer, Linda Mihovich, Lisa Pierce and Rita Johnson; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and extended family and friends. She is preceded in death by her father, Donato Petruccelli.
Richard H. Hoffman Jr. ’83, an electrical engineer and sports fan, died July 23 at Stella Maris Hospice from a glioblastoma, according to The Baltimore Sun. He was 54. The son of Richard H. Hoffman Sr., a NASA engineer, and Mary Rita Hoffman, a homemaker, Richard Hugh Hoffman Jr. was born in Baltimore and raised in Calverton, graduating in 1979 from High Point High School in Beltsville. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UMD and a master’s degree in business in 1993 from the Johns Hopkins University. He began his career at Westinghouse Electric Corp. and later worked at Telecom World Communications. For the last 14 years, he was a general engineer for the federal government’s International Broadcasting Bureau in Washington. The Dayton resident was a baseball and basketball fan. He was also a self-taught sketch artist and enjoyed working on home improvement projects. He was also a communicant of St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Clarksville. Hoffman is survived by his wife of 25 years, the former Kathryn “Kate” McNally; a son, Conor Hoffman; a daughter, Kathryn; his mother, Mary Rita; a brother, Christopher Hoffman; a sister, Anne McCoy; and many other relatives.
June deGraft-Hanson died May 31 in Laurel, Md., three weeks shy of her 59th birthday. Born in Cape Coast, Ghana, the first child of John Orleans deGraft Hanson and Benedicta Cora Hanson, she earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with honors at the University of Ghana, Legon, then went on to pursue graduate degrees at UMD. Over the years, deGraft-Hanson worked at the University of Maryland, University of West Virginia, University of Ghana, Legon, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Maryland. DeGraft-Hanson was a highly published food safety scientist and an avian flu expert. She enjoyed playing the piano, knitting and crocheting, and she loved to read, particularly Jane Austen and John Keats. DeGraft-Hanson was predeceased by her father and brother, Kofi. She is survived by her mother; siblings Dr. Kwesi deGraft-Hanson, Kweku Hanson, Dr. Kobena Hanson, Christine deGraft-Hanson, Henry deGraft-Hanson, Araba Hanson-Knoblock, Robert Hanson, Eudora Hanson-Tagboto and Rosalyn Hanson-Aryee; and many other relatives worldwide.
Camille Hill ’78, an Orange County assistant district attorney, died May 20, according to the Orange County Register. A Texas native, she worked as a criminalist for Houston police after graduating from UMD. She later continued her education at UC Berkeley, where she earned a law degree in 1987. She clerked for the Orange County District Attorney while in law school, and after getting her degree, went to work as a prosecutor. In 2000, she was key to forming the Innocence Project, which reviews claims from convicts who believe forensic evidence will clear them. Hill’s expertise in forensics had her assigned to high-profile cases that relied on DNA evidence. One of the biggest cases was the successful prosecution of Alejandro Avila for the 2002 murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runion. Hill broke new ground in winning the admissibility of a certain kind of DNA evidence in Avila’s trial. He was sentenced to death in July 2005. Hill also was credited as a key author of Proposition 69, which expanded how many defendants could be required to provide genetic material for a database used to solve cold cases. Since 2014, Hill was in charge of the district attorney’s DNA unit. Hill owned two birds and a Maltese-poodle mix named Frodo. She enjoyed riding motorcycles, sewing, roasting her own coffee and sharing popcorn that she popped in a machine in her office. Hill is survived by her parents, siblings, nephews and longtime boyfriend.
Debra Ann Wilson ’76, a human resources administrator and former television producer, died July 23 of complications from heart disease and diabetes, according to The Baltimore Sun. She was 62. Wilson was born in Holly Grove, Ark., but because of her father’s military career, the family moved frequently during her formative years. A longtime resident of Baltimore’s Franklin Square neighborhood, she graduated from Aberdeen High School. After earning a degree in journalism, she began her career at WBAL-TV as a producer. There she worked in the 1970s on the program “Baltimore at 10,” which competed with Oprah Winfrey’s show on WJZ. After leaving WBAL, Wilson pursued a career in human resources. She worked for Baltimore Life Insurance Co., the Johns Hopkins University and the Washington-based Brookings Institution. She participated in a host of community activities, such as career days at local high schools, and enjoyed attending jazz concerts and Broadway plays. Survivors include brothers Robert and Jason, and nephews and aunts. She was preceded in death by a brother, Harold Wilson.
Gerald Joseph Myers ’72 of Danvers, Mass., died Feb. 10, 2015. He was 73. Myers grew up in Baltimore and graduated in 1959 from Calvert Hall College High School, then served in the United States Navy. After earning a B.S. from UMD, he attained a master of education in law enforcement from Coppin State University two years later. He first served as assistant director of the Treatment Program Office for the Maryland State Division of Corrections in Baltimore, then of the Broward Addiction Recovery Center in Fort Lauderdale. With his move to Boston in 1994, he continued to work in the field of addictions management when he joined the Habit Management Institute (later Habit OPCO) in Lowell as director of its methadone treatment program. Jerry married his life partner, Dr. Robert Page, in 2004, formalizing a relationship that began in Baltimore in 1981. Myers was known for his perceptiveness, generosity of spirit, sharp mind, exemplary administrative skills and coolly commanding presence. He relished the many places and new friends he discovered while walking his beloved Labrador retriever, Miles. Besides Page, he is survived by daughter Laura Myers Skally; two grandchildren; parents Mary and Frank; and siblings Raymond Myers, Joan Tribull, Donald Myers, Patricia Halliwell and Frederick Myers. He was predeceased by his brother, Thomas Myers.
Kosit Panpiemras M.A. ’65, chairman of the Bangkok Bank board of executive directors and a cabinet minister in several governments, died of cancer at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital on June 1, according to The Bangkok Post. He was 73. After completing his education at Saint Gabriel’s College, Kosit graduated from Chulalongkorn University in 1963 before coming to UMD. He began as an economist at the World Bank in D.C. before entering government service. He rose to the post of deputy secretary-general of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board. He later entered politics, serving as the prime minister’s secretary-general during the tenure of Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon in 1992. He was appointed deputy agriculture minister during the administration of Anand Panyarachun and later took over the agriculture minister’s post in the same government. He held key cabinet posts in several governments. He first joined Bangkok Bank as an executive director and was appointed chairman of the board of executive directors in 1999.
Ray Hesson ’64, whose exuberant banjo-playing was well known in local and regional music circles, died May 24 in Baltimore after a long illness, according to The Baltimore Sun. He was 74. Hesson was born and grew up in Silver Spring, but moved to Bowie in the early 1970s after settling down following college and marriage. As a youngster, he showed great interest in music, particularly the guitar. He was a huge fan of the finger-picking style used by Chet Atkins, then a giant in country music. That playing style suited Hesson well when he switched over to playing the banjo during the early 1960s. As a teen, Hesson worked at Veneman Music, which had a string of D.C.-area music stores, helping to sell instruments and equipment and also giving lessons. While working at Veneman, he began a lifelong friendship with fellow musician Ben Eldridge, one of the founding members of the Seldom Scene, the locally based, world-famous bluegrass group. Hesson was hired to play on a commercial single called “Wheels,” released by a group called—appropriately enough—the String-A-Longs. The instrumental hit rose to No. 3 on the Billboard charts and wound up being the No. 8 record of the year in 1961. The money he made off the record helped him pay for his studies at the University of Maryland. He played in a couple of folk/bluegrass bands that were well-known locally, including Foggy Bottom, the Free State String Band and, later, Pointer Ridge. He played with his wife, Frannie, in the Free State String Band. The two had met while working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. Years later, he formed Pointer Ridge—named after the Bowie development where he lived—with his sons, and it performed regularly at a local park’s amphitheater. Hesson is survived by his sons, Raymond Jr., Benjamin and Michael; seven grandchildren; and sister Irene. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Helen, and the mother of his sons, Frances Shryock-Hesson.
Robert Andrew “Bob” Deffinbaugh ’62, a retired Montgomery County schoolteacher, died July 18 at his Lusby, Md. home. He was 77. He was born Aug. 31, 1938, in Washington, D.C., to the late Mountz Deffinbaugh and Anne (Ott) Deffinbaugh. He taught in Montgomery County Public Schools for 33 years, retiring in 1995. Deffinbaugh was a member of Lusby Duplicate Bridge. He is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Pat Deffinbaugh; his children, Lynn Pellar, Lori Anglin, Andy Deffinbaugh Jr. and Lisa Deffinbaugh; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren, Blake and Conner; and a sister, Margie Dove.
Frank Scotti Ph.D. ’60 died July 20 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in New Jersey. He was 85. He was born in Bronx, N.Y., and received his B.S. from the City College of New York, and his doctorate in chemistry from UMD. He served two years in the Air Force. On Dec. 23, 1953, he married Joan C. Brennan of Bronx, N.Y. They initially lived in Westport and then settled into the Pines Lake area of Wayne, N.J. He worked as a research chemist for American Cyanamid in Wayne, N.J, and then started his own business, Scott-Page, developing environmentally safe painting and caulking supplies. He has held several U.S patents. After his wife’s death, he spent his time with Annie Pelligrini. He enjoyed walking, playing bridge with his many friends and the Wayne Library’s political discussion group. He is survived by his children, Richard, Meg and Robert; two grandchildren; and a brother, Tony. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan; and a brother, Benjamin.
Maryalyce R. (Rehm) Norris ’58, of North Conway, N.H., and Ft. Myers, Fla., died June 30 at the Memorial Hospital in North Conway, according to Winchester Patch. She was 80. Norris was a longtime resident of Winchester, W.Va., where she graduated from Winchester High School, and was a class officer and cheerleader. At UMD, she received a degree in education, and was an active member in the Sigma Kappa Sorority. Norris earned a master’s degree in audio and visual education from Boston University. She went on to teach in Winchester Public Schools from 1962-85. Norris also volunteered as a member of the Winton Club, the Friends of Winchester Hospital and was active with the William Parkman Lodge of Masons, Boston Commandry, and the Shriners Aleppo Temple women’s auxiliary. After retiring, she and her husband, Richard F. “Dick” Norris Sr., split their time between New Hampshire and Fort Myers. She loved skiing, hiking, the beach, a good book and sewing. She continued to substitute both in North Conway and Lee County, Fla., where she had just finished the school year in June. Besides her husband, Norris is survived by her children, Sheryl Norris, Richard “Rick” Norris Jr. and Stephen Norris; and five grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one grandson.
James Joseph Kouten ’54 of Richmond, Va., a veteran of three wars, died July 18. He was 92. He retired from the U.S. Army with many decorations after serving in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was preceded in death by his wife, Genevieve A. Kouten; and daughter, Jennifer A. Kouten. James is survived by his sons, Joseph and James; two grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
Hortense “Bunny” Bunting Tegler ’48 died June 10 at the age of 90, according to The Baltimore Sun. She was born on April 17, 1926, in Pocomoke City, Md., to the late George Sydney and Madelyn East Bunting. At UMD, she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and received the Abe Gattwals Award. She completed nursing school at University Hospital in 1948, received her B.S. and later that year married the late Paul Alexander Tegler. She was active in nursing for 46 years as well as in the community, including in the Baltimore Arts Council, Women’s Auxiliary of Baltimore Symphony, University of Maryland Alumni Association, Baltimore Club-University of Maryland, Baltimore Group of the Terrapin Club, American Legion Auxiliary #183 and Greenbrier Garden Club. She was preceded in death by her husband, and then her long-term partner, Carson Wiley, as well as a son, Terry Wayne Tegler. She is survived by two daughters, Lynn T. Eskow and Tracy T. Highlander, and a son, Paul Alexander Tegler Jr.; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Josephine Miller Crouch ’47, a retired psychiatric nurse, died at Talbot Hospice on May 21. She was 90. Born in Chicago, she was the only child of Oliver and Alice Miller. At UMD, she was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority and met her husband, Charles Crouch, whom she married in 1947. In her late 40s, she graduated from the University of Maryland School of Nursing and became a psychiatric nurse at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center, where she remained until her retirement in 1988. The Crouches moved to St. Michaels in 1956, and she became active in Christ Church St. Michaels and many organizations, including the Republican Women’s Club, the Women’s Club and Current Events Club. She was also an excellent bridge player and remained active with her sorority alumni group. She is survived by three sons, Tom, Curt and Ed; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
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