Class Notes July 2017

Class Notes

1950s

Martin Ries, CAS/BA '50, showcased two paintings in Big Ideas in Small Packages at the Blue Door Art Center in Yonkers, New York.

U. Kyaw Win, CAS/ MA '59, published My Conscience: An Exile's Memoir of Burma. The book chronicles his efforts to attract international attention to Burma's destruction and to restore freedom to his homeland.

1960s

Jay Friedman, SIS/MA '66, enjoyed a 37-year career in international health with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He then spent more than a year in the Philippines in the WHO Expanded Program on Immunizations. On returning to the United States, he spent 25 years at CDC headquarters in the Division of Reproductive Health.

Charles Kegley, SIS/BA '66, is Pearce Professor of International Relations emeritus at the University of South Carolina and past president of the International Studies Association. He received the SIS Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984. The author of four dozen scholarly books, he recently published what he sees as his most important work, After a Stroke Strikes: A Long Night's Spiritual Journey into Day.

Monti Scribner, CAS/BA '71, published her first book, Not What We Appear to Be: New Perspectives for Conscious Living, a spiritual guide that answers questions about life, purpose, and the human experience.

Jeffrey Krida, SPA/BA '72, retired as CEO, cofounder, and vice chair of the American Queen Steamboat Company in 2016 and now serves on the Fort Worden Foundation board of trustees in Port Townsend, Washington.

James Brett, SPA/BA '73, received the 2017 Lantern Award from the Knights of Columbus for the Jurisdiction of Massachusetts.

Valerie Mann, SIS/BA '73, published Getting Your Share of the Pie: The Complete Guide to Finding Grants. In January 2015, Nonprofit World magazine published her article, "What to Do if the Grant Application Isn't Approved."

Richard Dorfman, CAS/BA '74, was appointed to the district board of trustees for the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. The former international sports executive lives in Sarasota, Florida.

Christopher Hoelzel, Kogod/BSBA '74, is a professor at Marymount University's School of Business Administration. His son, Christopher Hoelzel Jr., is also a Kogod School of Business graduate.

Jon Peterson, SPA/BA '76, retired from his position as deputy director of the DC Superior Court's Civil Division in December 2011. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children.

1980s

Vann Van Diepen, SIS/BA '81, retired after 34 years of federal service, most recently as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (seven years) and national intelligence officer for weapons of mass destruction and proliferation (three years).

Debra Dwyer, SPA/MA '83, WCL/JD '86, was appointed associate judge of the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Maryland.

Bonnie Morris, CAS/BA '83, is the first women's history scholar to host an exhibit on the feminist music movement in the United States at the Library of Congress.

Nancy Swing, SIS/PhD '85, published a mystery novel, Malice on the Mekong, set in Laos in the 1990s, when she and her husband lived and worked there.

Matthew Vurek, SPA/MS '85, is author of California's Capitol Corridor, a new book from Arcadia Publishing featuring his railroad photographs.

Clair Randall, SPA/PhD '86, retired from the Department of Defense in December 2014 after 35 years of service. She was a senior program manager at the Defense Technical Information Center.

1990s

David Heller, SOC/BA '90, wrote his t hird book, Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow. Previously published books are As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns (2003) and Facing Ted Williams (2013).

Christian DeJohn, SPA/BA '92, published For Want of a Gun: The Sherman Tank Scandal of WWII. The book details how the inadequacy of American tanks led to some of the worst setbacks of the war and prolonged it in Europe.

Arlene Gaylord, SPA/BA '92, was appointed assistant director of the FBI's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs by former FBI director James Comey.

Adam Phillips, SIS/BA '93, has a new book, The Silent Second, to be released in August. It's the first in a detective series about a human resources manager who moonlights as a private investigator.

Hyong Yi, SPA/MA '95, published his first book, 100 Love Notes, a collection of three-line poems to his late wife, who died of ovarian cancer, with illustrations by 17 artists.

Carl Oberg, SIS/BA '97, and Caren Oberg, CAS/BA '97, currently live in Marquette, Michigan. Carl is director of nonprofits for Ceterus, an automated bookkeeping company. In August they will move to the Twin Cities, where Caren will pursue a PhD in apparel studies at the University Of Minnesota College Of Design.

Col. John Church, SOC/MA '98, retired from the US Marine Corps Forces Reserve after 35 years of service.

Dana Cruikshank, SIS/BA '98, has been named communications director for the Office of International Research, Education, and Development at Virginia Tech.

Gregory Roberts, WCL/JD '99, has joined Reed Smith's New York office.

Paul Teller, SPA/PhD '99, is special assistant to the president for legislative affairs, acting as a liaison to conservative members of Congress and the conservative movement.

2000s

Shelly Mulkey, WCL/JD '01, was appointed magistrate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by Chief Judge Robert Morin.

Chris Van Vlack, SPA/BA '02, won the Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Discussion Meet and went on to win the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet in Orlando. In addition, he was elected president of Loudoun County Farm Bureau in Virginia.

Enjolique Aytch, SPA/BA '03, was named a 2017 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity fellow. She serves as chair of the DRI Products Liability Committee, pro bono cochair of the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, a mentor and committee member for the Southern District of Florida's Court-Assisted Re-Entry Initiative, and a member of the Election Protection coalition, led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Sonia Kennebeck, SIS/MA '04, directed National Bird, a feature-length documentary about the US government's secret drone war. Released in 2016, the film was screened at the Tribeca and Berlin film festivals, and it aired on PBS in May.

Jorhena Thomas, SIS/MA '04, launched Wright Thomas International, an international security consulting firm.

Rebecca VanderMeulen, SOC/BA '04, received her MEd in school counseling from West Chester University. In January, she was hired as a counselor with the Penn State Educational Opportunity Center in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Bedi, WCL/JD '05, became partner at Bedi and Singer LLP, which focuses on state and federal criminal defense, white-collar criminal defense, and civil rights cases.

Elena Lipson, SPA/MPP '05, has launched The Boost Podcast, which features entrepreneurs, athletes, and health care professionals who discuss their professional and personal journeys.

Rachael Gabriel, CAS/MA '07, published Reading's Non-Negotiables: Elements of Effective Reading Instruction . Gabriel is an assistant professor of reading education at the University of Connecticut.

Caitlin Stafford, SPA/BA '07, and Jason Obold, SPA/BA '07, welcomed a daughter, Eleanor Medora Obold, on December 27, 2016, in Boulder, Colorado.

Sarah Walker, Kogod/BS '07, studied Borneo's primate denizens, including the orangutan, and developed ways to engage international communities in primate conservation in Borneo. Walker, communications manager at Wildlife Conservation Society, lives in New York City.

Michael Kans, WCL/JD '08, was named partner at Williams and Jensen.

2010s

James Lynch, SPA/BA '10, published "What Sean Spicer Can Learn from Bill Belichick" on CNN.com on January 20, 2017.

Yi Chen, SOC/MA '13, is a recent recipient of the Carolyn's First Decade Fund, established by Women in Film and Video. The award supports the advancement of her career as a filmmaker.

Kelsey Earhart, CAS/BA '14, and Matthew Skic, CAS/BA '14, were married on May 27 in Titusville, New Jersey. The two met during their senior year at AU and now reside in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania. Earhart is program coordinator for the David and Dana Dornsife Office of Experiential Learning at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. Skic is assistant curator at the Museum of the American Revolution.

In Memoriam

Alumni

Meyer Fishbein, CAS/MA ’54; February 3, 2016; Beltsville, Maryland

Edward Faberman, SPA/BA ’67; November 20, 2016; Rockville, Maryland

Carmen Votaw, SIS/BA ’83; February 18, 2017; Bethesda, Maryland

Karen Jacobs Grunwald, CAS/BA ’93; December 9, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

Faculty

James Weaver, November 29, 2016; Washington, DC

Bernard Hodinko, December 25, 2016; Langley Park, Maryland

Michael Mazis, January 6, 2017; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Gary Weaver, March 11, 2017; Washington, DC

Richard Kay, April 3, 2017; Owings, Maryland