Transitions

Luis E. Sanz, BS Biology '72, a professor in and vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center, has edited four books on gynecological surgery and written more than 40 scientific papers. He was promoted to the professor-scholar tract at Georgetown.

Timothy S. Heinemann, BA German '73, retired August 2003 after 31 years in the U.S. Army as a special forces officer. He now works as a threat consultant and counterterror instructor for the Department of Defense Experimentation and Post Graduate Institutions.

Mary Anne Nulty, BS Social Welfare '74, left private practice in Falls Church, Virginia, in 2003 to become an instructor of social work and arts and sciences at Presentation College on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.

Joyce Litz, BA American Studies '75, has written a book, The Montana Frontier: One Woman's West, about her grandmother, who moved in 1899 from New York City via an open buckboard through a Montana blizzard and how she adapted. The book is available from bookstores or online at unmpress.com.

Chris Ward, MA English '75, was promoted from assistant professor at Ave Maria College of the Americas to chair of the English and Fine Arts Department while convalescing after being assaulted by a prowler in Western Australia.

Bobbie Beidleman Coleman, BA Sociology '76, is a guidance counselor at an inner-city Daytona Beach elementary school. She and her husband, John, have a son, Robb, age 13.

John Wilburn, MA History '76, was named the Houston Chronicle's managing editor after serving in the position on an interim basis since August 2003.

Donald A. Millen, BS Biology '79, is an emergency room physician at St. Vincent's Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. He is a designated physician with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and was previously a jet pilot.

John Otto, BS Biology '80, is a veterinarian at University Animal Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma. He has appeared on Animal Planet and sponsored a bill on pet overpopulation.

Robbie Kaplan, BA English '81, expects her ninth book, How to Say It When You Don't Know What to Say: The Right Words for Difficult Times, to be published in May by Prentice Hall.

Gregory George Paspatis, BA History '83, was appointed to the Alexandrians for an All City Sports Facility Committee by Alexandria, Virginia, Mayor Bill Euille.

Albert Condes, BA Government and Politics '85, was appointed deputy assistant administrator for external relations at NASA.

Eric D. Schansberg, BS Economics '86, had his third book, Turn Neither to the Right nor to the Left: A Thinking Christian's Guide to Politics and Public Policy, published last October by Alertness Books.

Elizabeth M. Stewart, MA Economics '86, earned a JD from Catholic University of America in 1996 and is team vice president for branding, communications, marketing, and meetings and conventions for the American Institute of Architects. She lives in Vienna, Virginia, with her husband, Alan, and daughters, Theresa and Bridget.

Loretta Walker Prencipe, BA Russian Studies '87 and JD '95, was named editorial director for Media First Public Relations, which helps top technology and service companies craft their messages for first-tier media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and NPR. She also was named to the board of DateArt, a provider of complex development services based in the emerging technology center of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Ken Frager, BIS '88, has joined Johns Hopkins University as a senior project manager for marketing, special projects, and advertising. In this role, he will support the marketing communications and public relations efforts for Johns Hopkins Medicine, which includes the Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine.

DID YOU KNOW?
Author Richard Bausch, BA English '74, won the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story for his many publications, including five collections of stories. The honor previously has been awarded to such authors as John Updike, Eudora Welty, and William Maxwell. Recipients do not apply to win the award; they are selected on the basis of their work. Bausch will receive the prize in November.

Mark F. Hall, BA Anthropology '89 and MA English Literature '93, earned an advanced diploma in local history with distinction from the University of Oxford via distance learning. Mark also earned a master's degree in library science from the Catholic University of America in 2001. A research specialist at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Mark lives in Burke, Virginia, with his wife, Alison, and their daughters, Jessica and Megan.

Ralph E. Reeves Jr., MS Biology '90, who teaches at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, received the Washington Post Agnes Myers Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2003. Ralph was also one of 110 educators this year to receive the $3,000 Radio Shack National Teacher Award, which is presented to outstanding teachers who demonstrate a commitment to academic excellence in mathematics, science, or technology.

Sandra Compton Simmons, BA English '92, earned her master's degree from Longwood College and a law degree from the University of Virginia. She is an associate with Troutman Sanders in their litigation practice group at the firm's Norfolk office.

J. Kenneth Townsend, BA Philosophy '92, adopted a daughter, Caitlin Elizabeth, from China in March 2003.

Valerie Orlando, MA Foreign Languages '93, is an associate professor of French at Illinois Wesleyan University and was selected to participate in a Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar in Morocco.

Mark Rais, BA English '93 and MA English '95, had his book, Linux for the Rest of Us, published by Eagle Nest Press. It is available from Amazon.com.

Ernest Scribner, BA History '93, was promoted to major in the U.S. Army. At about the same time, he was ordered to Iraq for most of 2004. Scribner plans to retire from the Army in 2005.

Marcus A. Johnson Jr., MPA '94, a foreign service officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, has been assigned to New Delhi, India. Previously, he served in Mali, West Africa, accompanied by his wife, Natalya, and son, Maxim.

Tracy Carol Taylor, BA English '94, served four years in the U.S. Army and works for Computer Science Corporation as a field service technician. She has completed her first book, The Journey, which is available from www.1stbooks.com and can be ordered through major bookstores.

Todd LaMontagne, MA English Literature '96, moved back to his home state of Connecticut and teaches seventh and eighth grade English in Hartford. During 2001 and 2002, he traveled around the world, visiting 17 countries on four continents.

Nancy Lu Okan, BA Government and Politics '96, lives in Toulouse, France, with her husband and their baby son, Lucas.

Stephen Pulich, BA International Studies '96, and his wife, Antonia Tate Pulich, BA Psychology '96, have both received master's degrees from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia in 2001. In August 2003, their child, Embry Marc, was born.

John D. Wilkins, MA Sociology '96, graduated with a PhD in the sociology of science from Virginia Tech in fall 2003. He has conducted research in Tsukuba, Japan, that focuses on the organization of work in scientific institutes. His wife, Lisa B. Wilkins, BS Biology '97, completed an MS in environmental studies at Longwood College in May 2003 and has entered a PhD program in physical geography at the University of Tennessee.

Kristine Mitchell Morris, BA Fine Arts '97, and her husband, Rex, announce the birth of their first child, Libby Mae, in November 2003.

David Stachurski, MA Economics '97, completed an Executive MBA program at Wake Forest University in December 2003.

Maria Sund, BA International Studies '97, received an MA in Russian and East European studies from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service in 2002, the same year her second daughter, Alexandra, was born.

Mark Harris, BA Government and Politics '98, received a JD from West Virginia University College of Law in 2002 and passed the Virginia bar in 2003.

Jason March, BA English '98, and Kirsten (Hardenbrook) March, BS Decision Science and Management Information Systems '94, welcomed their second child, Abigail Christine, in September 2003. Their oldest child, Chloe Elizabeth, was born in February 2001. Jason recently completed degree requirements for an MS in engineering management from George Washington University and is a consultant for BearingPoint's Public Services practice.

Xavier I. Ambroggio, BS Biology '99, has had his research published in the journal PloS Biology (www.plosbiology.org). He has been conducting doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology.

Jeffrey S. Phelan, BIS International Business Development '99, and his wife, Jacqueline, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Cannon McCormick Nims, in August 2003 in Arlington, Virginia.

Marina Rahman, BS Chemistry '99, is enjoying being a full-time mother to her children: Katerina, born in June 2001, and Victor, born in June 2003.

Christopher A. Barker, MAIS '00, and his wife, Karen, have two children: Kit (3) and Anna (18 months). The couple is expecting twins this fall.

Richard A. Dubose III, BA English '00, earned a JD magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law and passed the Maryland bar exam. He currently clerks for a circuit court judge in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Elizabeth Farish, BA History '00, is the first person to hold the position of house manager for four independent historical homes owned by three separate associations in Portsmouth, Virginia: the Portsmouth Historical Society, the Warner House Association, and the Wentworth-Gardner Tobias Lear Association.

Benjamin Fred, BA Philosophy '00 and JD '03, and Lori Jillions, BS Psychology '01, were married in January 2004. They met as undergraduates at Mason in 1997. Benjamin is an attorney with the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., and Lori is working on a master's degree in psychology at the University of Baltimore.

Christopher Gaffrey, BA International Studies and BA Foreign Languages '00, entered the novitiate with the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans) in June 2003 and will make his first profession of religious vows in June 2004.

Robert J. Murphy, BA Government and International Politics '00, was named European sales manager for Holocom Networks of Carlsbad, California, working with special military cable networks. A survivor of the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon, he has participated in its rebuilding.

Adam Thiel, MPA '00, and his wife, Katherine, announce the birth of their son, Cooper Wright, in December 2003 in Richmond, Virginia.

Cathy Buntua, BA Government and Politics and Psychology '02, is pursuing her MA in clinical psychology at the American School of Professional Psychology. She also works full time and volunteers as a mentor for foster children.

DID YOU KNOW?
Rhea Seehorn, BA Art Studio '94, can be seen on Tuesday nights on the ABC television show I'm with Her.

Delaram M. Cavey, BA Communication '02, married David Spencer Cavey in October 2003 and began a diplomatic career in November 2003 as a junior political officer with the U.S. State Department. Her first post is to Jordan for two years.

Rebecca Valois, BS Psychology '02, is working on a master's degree in counseling at Argosy University.

Adam Ashurst, BA Integrative Studies '03, married Samantha Lynn Ashurst. The couple lives in Gainesville, Virginia. Adam is a government contractor for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.

Neena Luthra, BS Psychology '03, is an assistant mental health counselor at Pathway Homes in Fairfax.

Jane Schapiro, MFA Creative Writing '04, had her book, Inside a Class Action: The Holocaust and the Swiss Banks, published in November 2003 by the University of Wisconsin Press.

Business

Donald P. Keninitz, BS Business Administration '80, was appointed managing director for the Timonium, Maryland-based tax and accounting consulting service of American Express Tax and Business Services.

Dino Andreatos, BS Business Management '81, is owner and president of the Business Benefits Group Insurance Agency and is owner and a member of the Business Investment Group, a real estate development company in Fairfax.

Nancy A. Woolever, BS Management '83 and MAIS Human Resources '93, earned professional certification as a senior professional in human resources through the Human Resource Certification Institute in May 2002. In February 2004, Nancy was selected by the National Speakers Association as the 2004 Meeting Partner of the Year, a prestigious honor awarded annually to a professional in the meetings industry who is recognized for significant contributions to the profession. Nancy is the manager of education at the Society for Human Resource Management, a position she has held since 1997.

David W. Kinister, BS Finance '84 and MBA '86, received an MA in biblical studies in 1998 and a master's of divinity in 1999. He was ordained in 2000 and currently serves as Virginia director of Capital Bible Seminary.

Richard L. Hall, MBA '85, is the vice president and chief financial officer for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham.

Gary Leake, BS Accounting '87, and his wife of 14 years, Allison, have a 10-year-old son, Jeremy. Gary earned an MBA from Finance University of North Texas in 1997 and is a certified public accountant

Ronald Scarbel, BS Accounting '91, and his wife, Holly, had their first child, Caroline, in January 2004.

Scott Correira, MBA '94, founded a sports marketing company, Play By Play Sports in 2002. In 2003, the company secured exclusive marketing and media rights for University of Notre Dame Athletics and formed Notre Dame Sports Properties.

Sean Boyd, BS Finance and Accounting '97, a CPA for Freeman & Williams, earned a certified valuation analyst designation, which establishes him as an authority in business appraisals and qualifies him to perform comprehensive analyses of the value of businesses.

Julia Malatak, BS Management '97, a loan assistant for Franklin National Bank in Nashville, Tennessee, was named employee of the month for January 2004.

Sylvia Wong, BS Integrative Studies '99, finished her MBA at the University of Phoenix in December 2003 and has taken a new job at BridgeStreet Corporate Housing Worldwide as financial systems manager.

Mike Farley, MBA '02, married Mary Farley in 2001. They have a one-year-old daughter named Maya. Mike is contracting as a business and financial analyst via IBM to the Department of Homeland Security. He was promoted to a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Computational Sciences

Ronald Taylor, PhD Bioinformatics '03, works at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a federal Department of Energy lab in Washington State where he is involved in projects concerning computational biology and systems biology.

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Deborah Hersman, MS Conflict Analysis '00, was nominated by President Bush to be a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. She is on the staff of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004. According to departmental statistics, 1,518 students in the department have earned BS degrees, 838 have earned master's degrees, and 65 have earned doctorates.

Education

Frances Adams, BS Elementary Education '70, rode her bike across the country from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida, at the age of 70.

Joan Barringer, BA Area Studies (Latin) '81 and MEd Counseling '99, was included in Who's Who of America, American Women, and the World.

Flavius Bennett Hall Jr., MEd Supervision and Administration '84, received the Washington Post Agnes Myer Teacher of the Year Award in 1990 and the Virginia Art Educator of the Year Award from the Virginia Art Education Association in 1996.

David Gaskins, BS Physical Education '85, was selected in 2003 to referee the eastern regional and state basketball championships of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Beverly Willie, MEd Counseling '85, earned a bachelor of divinity degree cum laude from Triangle Bible Institute in April 2001 and a certificate of license in the gospel ministry in September 2001 from Neabsco Baptist Church in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Richard Hamilton, BS Education '86, is an elementary school counselor for Chesterfield County, Virginia. He earned an MEd from the University of Louisville and expects to earn an EdS from the University of Virginia in 2005.

Patricia Zissios, MEd Administration and Supervision '87 and PhD Education '94, received the Virginia Elementary School Principals School Bell Award, was first runner-up for Virginia's National Distinguished Principal, and is the American Legion's Educator of the Year for 2003.

Wesley Smith, BS Vocational Education '89, is a 15-year veteran U.S. Navy officer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida.

Anthony L. Bennett, MEd '90, owns and operates A.L. Bennett Funeral Home in Fredericksburg, Virginia; teaches technology at A.G. Wright Middle School in Stafford County, Virginia; and is an incumbent running for an at-large seat on the city school board in Fredericksburg.

Harvey Goodwin, MEd Secondary Education '90, is director of technology for Montgomery County Public Schools in southwestern Virginia.

Paul S. Adams, BA International Studies '91, is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and an adjunct instructor of political science at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. He earned an MA in international affairs from Florida State University in 1995.

Gary Smucker, MEd Curriculum and Instruction '92, has been awarded a Fulbright Teacher Exchange for the 2003—04 academic year and spent October at the Lycee Zerktouni Secondary School in Marrakech, Morocco, working with his Moroccan host and living with him and his family. In March and April, the Moroccan teacher worked in Smucker's English as a second language classes at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and was a guest in his home.

Richard S. Catlett, MEd Leadership and Human Development '95, the principal of Johnson-Williams Middle School, will become director of administrative services for Clarke County (Virginia) Public Schools on July 1.

Laurie Sullivan, MEd Curriculum and Instruction '03, has been named the Virginia 2004 Teacher of the Year. She is a science and mathematics teacher at Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia.

Information Technology and Engineering

Timothy C. Lor, BS Computer and Electrical Engineering '89 and MS Electrical Engineering '98, was married in August 2002. Timothy and his wife's first child was born in 2004.

George Harold Waxter, MS Electronic and Computer Engineering '89, continues to work as a locum tenens physician. He has spent more than a year in Hawaii, where he competed in the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, which was unusually rough because it coincided with a hurricane. Of the 1,000 entrants, only 350 (of which George was one) completed the 2.4-mile open-ocean swim. He earned the IVV 1,000-kilometer Volksport Award for completing more than 620 miles in walking and bicycling events. He will be leaving Hawaii to work as a locum tenens physician in New Zealand for a year.

Law

T. Stephen C. Taylor, JD '92, a corporate and securities attorney with the firm Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, Tennessee, is a member of the Lawyers Committee of the Tennessee Bankers Association, a member of the advisory board of directors of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and an officer of the Nashville Business Coalition.

Kathy C. Potter, JD '95, joined the firm of Albo & Oblon as a special counsel, practicing health care and employment law.

Declan C. Leonard, JD '96, practices business litigation and employment law, edits a popular monthly employment law newsletter, and has been named a partner in the Arlington, Virginia-based firm Albo & Oblon.

David W. Deane, JD '97, has become a partner in Albo & Oblon, where he is the day-to-day manager of the firm's criminal division and maintains an active criminal defense court docket. He previously worked for the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney's Office.

Christopher S. Decker, JD '97, and his wife, Megan, announce the birth of their first child, Henry Diehl, in December 2003.

Wayne Paugh, JD '00, an intellectual property attorney, has joined Venable as senior legislative counsel. He previously was chief of staff for James Rogan, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Nursing and Health Science

Nina Ouimette, BSN '78, received board certification in nursing informatics from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in July 2003.

Dianne Atkins, MSN Clinical Nursing '94, reports that her son, John T. Linn, BS Parks, Recreation, and Leisure '87, has returned from Baghdad, Iraq, where he was a commander major for the U.S. Air Force. John received a master's degree from the University of Houston. He is the son of the late John R. Linn, a former Mason men's basketball coach.

Ann Pike-Paris, BSN '98, runs an environmental health consulting practice, specializing in environmental health issues that affect children and schools.

Rachel E. Myers, MSN '99, has been published six times since her graduation, including graduate research she did in her Nursing 790 and 791 courses.

Felicia Owusu-Sampah, BSN '99, was featured in the Washington Post as an ordinary person leading an extraordinary life as a single parent after her husband's death in 2001.

Emily Byrnes, MSN Nursing Administration '03, works at Inova Fairfax Hospital's trauma center and emergency department and is active in the Emergency Nurses Association. In her spare time, she runs a small jewelry import business.

Public Policy

Amy Jahn, MA International Commerce and Policy '99, is engaged. The wedding is planned for May.

Beth Fitzsimmons, PhD Public Policy '01, was President Bush's nominee to chair the National Commission on Library and Information Systems and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Maurice L. Fox IV, MA International Commerce and Policy '01, is an international programs analyst for the Secretary of the Air Force, working in international armaments cooperation and agreements, research, development, and finance.

Victor S. Nolasco, MA International Commerce and Policy '01, and his wife welcomed their second child, Erin, in November 2003. Her older brother, Julian (3), isn't sure whether or not to keep her.

Visual and Performing Arts

Glenda Kirkman, BA Music '88, has been doing freelance photography since last October, a dream of hers since her days as the By George yearbook photographer. She did a promotional photo shoot for the Celtic band, IONA, last fall and has two picture postcards for sale at Art to Wear in Fairfax City and the Fairfax Museum.

Linda Gammon, MA Music '95, director of the middle school band and the Middle School Music Department at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, was awarded the Scroll of Excellence by the Women Band Directors International Association.

Deaths

Mark Craver, MA English '83 and MFA Creative Writing '84, passed away January 3, 2004.

John Timothy Henson, BS Business Administration '78, passed away July 18, 2003.

Anne Larson, MS Conflict Management and Resolution '88, passed away January 10, 2004.

Arts and Sciences