Class Notes Winter 2025
Class Notes
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Al McKegg, B.A. ’66, published his debut novel, “Blood on Cotton: From Civil War to Civil Rights” (2024). A writer since 1968, McKegg has authored articles and columns for corporations, magazines and newspapers, often focusing on environmental issues. While at GW, he co-founded the Liberal Education/Action Project (LE/AP), a political and social action group active during the Vietnam era, and led the Al McKegg Trio, the Brickskeller’s “house group.” McKegg and several former LE/AP members reunited in 2007 for what they fondly called the “Reunion of Radicals.”
Terence Babcock, B.S. ’67, M.D. ’71, is a retired cardiovascular surgeon living in Denton, Texas.
Gail Sanderson, B.S. ’68, retired after a long career as a registered nurse.
Mark R. Shenkman, M.B.A. ’67, HON ’25, founder of Shenkman Capital, was profiled for building one of the world’s leading privately owned high-yield credit firms, managing approximately $35 billion in assets.
Bruno Aploks, B.S. ’77, M.D. ’83, retired after 34 years as an ear, nose and throat surgeon. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his three children and young grandson.
Karen Berman, B.A. ’74, co-edited and contributed to “Stories of the Holocaust: Art for Healing and Renewal” (International Psychoanalytic Books, 2025), a two-volume collection. Her husband, Paul Accettura, B.A. ’73, also contributed to the book.
John Davis, B.A. ’75, teaches neuropsychology and writes about EEG biofeedback at McMaster University’s department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences.
Norman B. Gildin, M.H.C.A. ’77, president of Strategic Fundraising Group LLC, published “Fundraising Insights for Nonprofits: A Collection of Essays on Fundraising” (BookBaby, 2025), which shares practical strategies on major gifts, donor cultivation, planned giving and creative fundraising solutions.
Felicia Goins, B.A. ’78, is a pediatric dentist practicing in Columbia and Sumter, South Carolina.
Michael Heyman, J.D. ’72, was appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Alaska by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Monica Huddleston, B.A. ’75, serves as a volunteer board member for several nonprofits, applying her GW training to strengthen financial oversight.
Jean Montgomery, Ph.D. ’76, has been retired for more than two decades and remains active with new personal projects.
Bill Musgrave, M.B.A. ’70, D.B.A. ’75, published “The Leaders We Need: Ethical – Caring – Creative – Engaged in Building a Better 21st Century World for All” (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2025), drawing on his global career in the Navy, corporate leadership and education.
Sheryl Nese Nonnenberg, M.A.T. ’79, has written about the visual arts in the San Francisco Bay Area for 25 years. Her feature stories have appeared in publications including “Silicon Valley Magazine,” “Nob Hill Gazette” and “Punch Magazine.”
Dennis Pluchinsky, M.A. ’78, a former State Department intelligence analyst, completed the third volume of his five-volume history of anti-American terrorism from the Eisenhower through Trump administrations.
Blyth Riegel Stenner, M.A. ’73, has spent more than 40 years working in educational administration, database design and administration, research and evaluation and psychometrics.
Roni Sacks, B.A. ’79, and Jeff Sacks, B.A. ’80, celebrated 25 years of coaching high school tennis, amassing more than 150 victories and guiding nearly 20 student-athletes to compete at the collegiate level.
Paul Upman, B.A. ’70, retired after 40 years in preclinical medical research.
Mitchell Zeitler, B.S. ’76, M.D. ’82, earned his M.S. at Georgetown and M.D. at GW, later practicing anesthesiology in Maryland and Florida.
Brian Butler, B.A. ’87, is an educational consultant, speaker and author, and a former principal and GW basketball player.
David Campbell, M.B.A. ’87, was promoted to CEO of Chernoff Newman, an integrated marketing, advertising and communications firm.
Kirk Fitzhugh, Ph.D. ’88, is curator of polychaetes at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Ira Gleser, M.B.A. ’83, published “Stewardship for Business” (2025), which became an Amazon No. 1 bestseller in three business categories.
Steven Handler, B.S. ’86, serves as a staff radiologist at the 355th Medical Group at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.
Philip Hannum, M.F.S. ’81, has been blogging on substance abuse for nearly a decade.
Cindy Knall, B.A. ’85, was awarded professor emerita status upon retiring from the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Scott Levin, J.D. ’87, was named chief legal officer and secretary of Accel Entertainment.
Lee Mann, J.D. ’88, Ph.D. ’90, retired from the National Institutes of Health in 2020 and now travels internationally.
Sarah Schneiderman, B.F.A. ’80, had her assemblage “The State of Healthcare in the United States of America #4” selected for the “Becoming Plastic” exhibition and showed additional work in multiple venues throughout the year.
David Septoff, B.A. ’83, launched Septoff Trusted Advisors, a consultancy focused on leadership development and executive coaching.
Theodore Olds, J.D. ’88, is CEO of Carlson Gaskey & Olds, which celebrated its 25th anniversary.
John S. Pirri, LL.M. ’87, retired after 38 years as a federal estate and gift tax attorney with the IRS.
Richard Ward, M.B.A. ’88, recently retired following a 33-year career as executive director of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Adele Abrams, J.D. ’95, joined Littler as senior counsel focusing on safety, health and employment law.
Libbie Bock, B.A. ’91, opened Tabi, a luxury bush camp in the Serengeti blending Japanese and African influences.
Christopher Bright, J.D. ’99, was named one of the “Daily Journal”’s “Top Intellectual Property Lawyers.”
Nicole Buckner, B.A. ’98, M.A. ’05, works in human resources consulting.
Jason Comer, B.A. ’94, is assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington and medical director of the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Bellevue.
Susan Cooke Soderberg, M.A. ’92, published “My Name Is Not Tom” (Georgetown University Press, 2025), a comprehensive biography of Josiah Henson.
Carolyn Dasher, M.A. ’92, published “American Sky” (Lake Union Publishing, 2025), a multigenerational family saga.
Troy Desai, B.S. ’99, is a neurologist in Pittsburgh specializing in multiple sclerosis.
Dianne Duva, B.A. ’97, was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the “Pacific Coast Business Times.”
Holly Ganz, B.S. ’92, is cofounder and chief science officer of AnimalBiome.
Darren Glatt, B.B.A. ’98, spoke to a GW investing class about his experience in infrastructure investing.
Usha Govindarajulu, M.S. ’99, is an associate professor of biostatistics at Mount Sinai.
Scott Grossman, J.D. ’99, was appointed chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Ed Harrison, B.B.A. ’92, was named managing director for B2B technology at Orchestra.
Frederick Hoeschler, B.A. ’95, flies a Boeing 737 as a United Airlines captain.
Lawana Holland-Moore, B.A. ’96, led development of a new Sojourner Truth monument in Akron and serves on the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.
Jean LaFauci Schutt, B.A. ’96, Ph.D. ’09, serves as associate editor for the “Trauma Counseling & Resilience Journal” and contributed a chapter to a parenting book.
Chung-Shing Lee, D.Sc. ’97, was appointed dean of the College of Business, Engineering and Technology at Saint Martin’s University.
Shawn McCarthy, M.Ed. ’95, published his 10th book, “Local Honey” (Dark Spark Press, 2025).
Ed Moser, M.A. ’91, accepted a new book contract to author a history of Georgetown.
Deirdre O’Leary, B.A. ’91, is a government contractor with Leidos.
Ahdeah Pajoohesh-Ganji, B.S. ’97, Ph.D. ’05, is an associate professor at GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Ronita Royster Hayes, B.S. ’95, teaches high school biology in Virginia and recently traveled through Italy and France.
Ritesh Sheth, B.S. ’98, leads research at NPP by UPL and founded Sheth Technologies LLC.
Dan Simons, B.B.A. ’92, delivered a TEDx talk on sustainable hospitality.
Katherine Spilde, M.A. ’93, was named one of the inaugural Matriarchs of Tribal Gaming.
Sabrina Ashjian, B.B.A. ’01, received the 2025 Advancement of Women Award from the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.
Vikram Bakhru, B.A. ’01, B.S. ’01, serves as president and CEO of Single Thread Health.
Michael Y. Bennett, B.A. ’02, was promoted to professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.
Alex Canizares, J.D. ’06, joined Vinson & Elkins as partner and co-head of its government contracts practice.
Victor Chen, J.D. ’00, joined Loeb & Loeb LLP’s capital markets and corporate department.
Frank Cordek, B.S. ’00, joined BrightTower as managing director.
Zachary Cunha, J.D. ’01, joined Nixon Peabody LLP as partner following service as U.S. attorney for Rhode Island.
Lewis Goss II, J.D. ’08, joined DLA Piper’s real estate team.
Piyush Gupta, LL.M. ’05, was appointed head counsel of Etihad Airways.
Ashley (Boyle) Haltenhof, B.A. ’04, is associate director on the health care services team at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Amber Hilliard, J.D. ’08, was appointed to lead Latitude’s new Washington, D.C., office.
Aron Kershner, B.B.A. ’05, guest lectured in Professor Lake’s class on investing and professional development.
Kunal Khemlani, B.B.A. ’08, was featured in multiple media outlets for his NYC real estate expertise.
Saadia Khilji, M.S. ’05, was appointed global chief information officer at Coverys.
Jessica McClain, M.Accy. ’08, was named CFO of the American Staffing Association.
Melvina Noel, Ed.D. ’00, published “Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis.”
Cathryn Paine, B.A. ’04, M.A. ’11, spoke in a GW venture capital course about investment strategy.
Raj Parekh, B.A. ’03, joined Sparacino PLLC as partner and chair of its national security law practice.
Marisha Pena, B.A. ’07, works as a roadway design engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Erin Petrey, B.A. ’08, is running for Congress in Kentucky’s 6th District.
Rahul Rao, J.D. ’05, joined White & Case’s antitrust team.
Logan Rappaport, B.A. ’02, joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as partner.
Batul Razvi, B.A. ’03, M.D. ’07, works as an anesthesiologist at Fair Oaks Hospital.
Junaid Shams, B.S. ’08, is founder and CEO of Rooam, recently acquired by American Express.
Zachary Sharpe, J.D. ’07, joined Lee & Ko as co-head of the international arbitration team.
Christina Smith Ritter, Ph.D. ’07, received a 2025 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for leading the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Team.
Jennifer M. Smith-Veluz, B.A. ’05, joined Butzel as a shareholder in its Washington, D.C., office.
Avneet Sodhi, B.S. ’06, M.D. ’10, is managing partner and director of glaucoma at Assil Gaur Eye Institute.
Derek Walley, M.S. ’00, teaches high school math and physics in San Diego.
Katherine White, J.D. ’04, was appointed deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Heidi S. Wicker, B.A. ’99, J.D. ’03, was elected president of Women in Housing & Finance.
Shawnna Yashar, J.D. ’07, joined O’Melveny as a partner in the intellectual property and technology practice group.
Mariana Abarca Zama, Ph.D. ’16, is an assistant professor at Smith College studying plant–insect interactions.
Melissa Avery, B.S. ’18, works in Switzerland as senior operations strategy expert at Nestlé’s global headquarters.
Arjun Awasthi, B.A. ’13, earned a Ph.D. in criminology and works on environmental policy in the U.K.
Mariam Azimi, B.A. ’16, earned her doctoral degree in psychology and serves as a psychologist for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Hannah Baer, B.S. ’17, was promoted to global commercial marketing manager at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics and co-leads GW alumni events in Minneapolis–St. Paul.
Gillian Ruppert Barnard, M.F.S. ’02, is assistant special agent in charge at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Northeast Field Office.
Meg Beasley, B.A. ’11, J.D. ’15, was promoted to senior counsel at Bracewell LLP.
Andrea Bolognesi, B.S. ’17, M.A. ’20, founded Ziflo, a company simplifying international trade compliance.
Nicole Casasanta, B.S. ’16, M.D. ’20, is a clinical fellow in hematology and medical oncology at Yale.
David Cutting, B.A. ’10, was promoted to associate director of finance at EY US LLP.
Young Darson Mkandawire, M.A. ’18, is a senior manager at IDinsight leading global research teams.
Liliana Di Nola-Baron, J.D. ’16, joined Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP as counsel.
Sierra Downs, M.A. ’17, owns Veritas Voice & Speech LLC and recently married their partner of 12 years.
Tori Fulkerson-Jones, M.B.A. ’16, CERT ’16, released a new album with her band Chaos Fiction.
Ashley Garbaccio, B.B.A. ’15, M.B.A. ’24, won first place in Wavemaker’s National AI Challenge for developing a workflow AI agent.
Scott Garber, M.B.A. ’14, guest lectured on identifying promising founders and evaluating investments.
Shayna Glassberg, B.S. ’18, is completing pediatrics residency at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Joe Goldman, B.A. ’11, M.P.S. ’17, was named Southern California regional director for the New Israel Fund.
Tawfik Goma, J.D. ’10, joined Mintz’s Miami office.
Robert Holup, J.D. ’16, joined Riker Danzig LLP as an associate.
Cassandra Horton, J.D. ’18, joined Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP’s labor and employment group.
William Jimenez, B.A. ’16, is a federal research psychologist after earning a Ph.D. from Old Dominion University.
John Katsos, M.B.A. ’11, J.D. ’11, was recognized by the “Financial Times” for his book “Responsible Management in Crisis.”
Irene Lee, J.D. ’15, joined McEntee Law Group in Chicago as senior attorney.
Nicholas Mann, B.B.A. ’18, spoke about global multi-asset investing to GW students.
Francis McCabe, J.D. ’15, joined Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP’s project finance practice.
Maxwell McGowen, B.A. ’11, M.P.S. ’12, is a senior business process improvement specialist at National Philanthropic Trust.
Naomi Naik, B.S. ’17, B.A. ’17, is associate director of health at FGS Global.
Niki Nourmohammadi, B.S. ’16, is a diagnostic radiology resident in Miami.
Caitlyn O’Conor, B.A. ’16, is a physician assistant in urgent care and will soon join Tufts Medical Center’s gastroenterology team.
Zach Pilchen, LL.M. ’15, joined Holland & Knight as senior counsel.
Tahlia Price-Rivera, B.S. ’19, matched into the anesthesiology residency program at SUNY Downstate.
Michael Ready, B.A. ’19, guest lectured on venture capital and career development.
Irene-Eva Ries, CERT ’10, serves as a program specialist for St. Lucie County, Florida, and instructs in the Florida Master Naturalist Program.
John Samuel, M.B.A. ’14, received the NC State Poole College of Management Impact Award.
Michael Selig, J.D. ’15, was appointed chief counsel for the SEC’s new cryptocurrency task force.
Brandon Smith, LL.M. ’13, joined Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky and Josefiak PLLC as partner, leading its Nashville office.
Kerrigan Unter, B.B.A. ’17, Ph.D. ’22, joined SKEMA Business School in Paris as a tenure-track faculty member.
John Venezia, B.A. ’18, is a licensed clinical social worker in Maryland.
Johanna Vidal-Phelan, M.B.A. ’16, was named president and CEO of The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh.
Shalini Wickramatilake, B.A. ’10, earned a Doctor of Public Health and serves as director of health and human services at the National Association of Counties.
Biao Zhang, M.S. ’14, works as a quantitative associate at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Gabriella Bann, B.S. ’22, completed a master’s in social sciences at the University of Chicago and works in the Human Behavioral Pharmacology Lab.
Ali Bazzi, J.D. ’20, joined Varnum’s corporate practice team.
Diti Bhasin, M.B.A. ’22, CERT ’22, was selected for Forté’s Alumni Leadership Council for the 2025–27 term.
Samuel Blake, B.A. ’22, serves as executive assistant and administrative manager in the Office of the President at The Juilliard School.
Kayla Capron, M.B.A., M.S. ’25, joined the Institute for Defense Analyses as a program analyst.
Kayla Cholpan, B.A. ’21, earned a master’s in forensic mental health counseling and now practices as a clinician in New York.
Samantha Cookinham, B.A. ’20, is an assignment editor for domestic newsgathering at NBC News.
Fara Dillon, M.A. ’20, was named 2025 Montgomery County Public Schools Middle School Counselor of the Year.
Olivia Dossa, B.S. ’21, works as an associate project manager in the pharmaceutical and clinical research industry.
Kate Dressel, B.S. ’24, and Andrew Lewis, B.Accy. ’98, funded new outdoor seating for the F. David Fowler Career Center.
Alexander Erdman, B.A. ’21, completed two years in the Peace Corps and was selected as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Mongolia.
Mark Febrizio, CERT ’23, joined Capital One as a data analyst.
Matthew Frey, M.A. ’21, now leads legislative affairs for the Kentucky State Auditor.
Stephanie Gemmell, B.A. ’21, earned an M.A. in interdisciplinary music studies and began new teaching roles while receiving a 2025 Theresa Velasquez Memorial Fellowship.
Marwa Hameed, B.S. ’24, began her master’s in public health microbiology at GW and contributes to nasal microbiome research.