Not Business as Usual
•  By Heather O. Milke

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Alumni Newsmakers | Dogmatic Made Good | In Memoriam | The Airforce Connection |
Alumni Bookshelf | Artist's Corner

Attention 1955 Graduates!

In honor of your 50th reunion next year, GW Magazine is planning a special section thatn includes a look back at your graduation year. We would like to include class notes from your year in this special section. Please write to us with letters and photos. Memories of your college days and/or current information about your life that we can share in the magazine are requested by Jan. 31.

Please send to:
GW Magazine • Attn: 1955 Alumni
2121 Eye Street, N.W., #512 • Washington, DC 20052
Or send e-mail to
magazine@gwu.edu.
Thank you!

William H. Orsinger, MD ’47, is a retired physician who shares his medical and life experiences through stories published in journals, including The Journal of the American Medical Association. “My solid medical education at GW provided me the privilege of serving many other humans,” Orsinger writes. Also, Orsinger has been a volunteer for the Bonsai Museum at the National Arboretum in Washington for more than 15 years. He additionally tends a private collection of more than 100 bonsai, which he started from seeds or cuttings or gathered in the wild.

A resident of Atlanta, Claire Jennings Frahler, BA ’49, and her husband, Andrew Louis Frahler, took a Scandinavian cruise to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary in June. They are the proud parents of four married children and the happy grandparents of 10 grandchildren. They volunteer as tutors in their free time.

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James L. Martin, BS ’50, (pictured at left) was elected an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Martin, who lives in Fresno, Calif., joined the ASCE when he was a student in the late 1940s. He retired as public works director for the City of Fresno in 1987.

In New Orleans in March, Julian Stein, BS ’50, was inducted into the American Leisure Academy at its annual meeting. Stein says he is the first individual to be recognized with membership in both the ALA and the American Academy for Kinesiology and Physical Education. Stein lives in Oliver, Tenn.

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Ruth Cohen, BA ’60, teaches “20th Century Art” and “American Folk Art and Crafts” at Temple University’s Ambler and Fort Washington campuses in Pennsylvania. She resides in Washington.

Former manager with Bell Atlantic and life-long education advocate John R. “Jack” Bailer, BA ’61, (pictured at left) was appointed to a four-year term on the Prince George’s County Board of Education by the Maryland governor and the Prince George’s County executive. He previously served 27 years on the Prince George’s Community College Board of Trustees and is past president of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges. Bailer also is president of the Judith P. Hoyer Foundation.

The American Jewish Committee in January honored William A. Gralnick, BA ’65, MA ’68, (pictured at right) for his 30 years of service to the human relations agency. Through his work, Gralnick combats racism and anti-Semitism by building educational bridges between Jews and members of other races, religions, and ethnic groups. He also worked to aid civilian aspects of counter-terrorism and homeland security issues. Gralnick says his most recent accomplishments are celebrating the 18th anniversary of a Catholic/Jewish dialogue; completing a statement signed by Jews and Evangelicals on proselytizing; creating the first formal link between a Jewish community and a municipal police department in Boca Raton, Fla.; and taking 10 law enforcement officers from Palm Beach County to do homeland security training with the Israeli National Police.

Star (Jean) Lawrence, BA ’66, a former aerospace lobbyist and now a freelance writer, started a regular column in The Arizona Republic. She also writes for WebMD and Newsweek. Lawrence lives in Chandler, Ariz.

The Poetry Society of Virginia in May elected Edward W. Lull, MS ’69, (pictured at left) to his fourth term as president. He joined the society in 1998; was elected to vice president of the Eastern Region in 1999 and 2000; and has been reelected president every year since 2001. Lull recently published Cabinboy to Captain: a Sea Story. Written in four parts, it features a fictitious young boy who matures through a series of adventures—based on historical events—in Elizabethan England. The character circumnavigates the globe with Francis Drake and later commands a ship that fights the Spanish Armada. The four-part story is told in blank verse.

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Ralph Hawkins, MAccy ’71, and a colleague in November received a United States patent on an aircraft engine reliability business model. He lives in Canton, Mass.

The principal of Fruitland Primary School in Fruitland, Md., Carolyn S. Johnston, BA ’71, (pictured at left) was named Maryland’s winner of the 2004 National Distinguished Principal Award in May. In October, she will visit the White House for a reception honoring all this year’s winners. She has been the school’s principal since 1998. She also is a former president of the Eastern Shore Reading Council and the Maryland International Reading Council. In 2003, she won the State of Maryland International Reading Association Presidential Award and the International Reading Association’s Celebrate Literacy Award.

Describing her activities as “quite a departure from my undergraduate major in international affairs, law degree, and subsequent career,” Laura Wais, BA ’71, now paints in oil and travels to the South Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean to study underwater photography. She shows her work in her Sausalito, Calif., studio and bi-annually at open studios.

At the Florida Hospital Association’s annual convention, C. Nick Wilson, MHA ’72, received the Senior Level Healthcare Executive of the Year Regent’s Award. He resides in Jacksonville, Fla.

President and CEO of Hackensack University Medical Center John P. Ferguson, MBA ’73, (pictured at left) was appointed secretary of the Board of Trustees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, and also was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Garden State Arts Foundation.

Frederick D. Bailey, BS ’78, MS ’84, JD ’97, was named partner of the firm Antonelli, Terry, Stout & Kraus of Arlington, Va.

In Philadelphia in April, Brian L. Finestein, MA ’78, joined Hahnemann University Hospital as chief operating officer. He oversees the hospital’s environmental services, maintenance, clinical engineering and safety, lab, food and nutrition, case management, MedEvac, and pharmacy departments.

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Lance Franke, MBA ’81, (pictured at left) in February was promoted to senior vice president of corporate finance for Sallie Mae. He joined the company in 1981 as a financial analyst. He is based in Reston, Va.

Dewberry, an engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va., promoted Zekrollah Momeni, BS ’82, to vice president in March. Momeni previously was a senior associate and serves as an engineering director for the firm’s National Flood Insurance Program contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Following a November election, Gary Eichelberger, BA ’83, in January was sworn in as Cumber-land County Commissioner in Pennsylvania. He serves as vice chairman of the Board of Commis-sioners for a four-year term. Eichelberger previously served as borough councilman in Mechanics-burg, Pa., for 14 years. He continues to manage his marketing research and organizational management consulting business. His wife, Tracy Schoolcraft, BA ’86, is chair of the chemistry department at Shippensburg University.

Richard Lolich, MBA ’84, completed an eight-month detail at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, where he helped draft the final rules and regulations for port and ship security that became effective in July. These rules and regulations require increased security measures at all U.S. port facilities and on all vessels that call at U.S. ports. He is a program manager at the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration and also serves as executive secretary for the Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council. He lives in Arlington, Va.

The New Jersey Council of Economic Advisors appointed Steven K. Brisgel, BA ’85, a member in December. Brisgel is the vice president and financial consultant of Smith Barney Citigroup in Florham Park, N.J. He also is the founder of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce; is on the senior executive council of the New Jersey Foundation for Aging; is a member of the Council of Trustees for the Aurora Foundation; and is an adviser to the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the Morristown Memorial Health Foundation’s Philanthropic Leadership Council.

Capital One Financial Corp. in McLean Va., in March named James Reo, BAccy ’85, (pictured at left) its director of recruitment in human resources. He previously served as manager of executive recruiting. He is responsible for driving recruiting strategy across the organization while continuing to oversee executive recruitment. He has been with the company for six years.

The Beach Cities Health District in April named Jonathan Wolin, MBA ’85, a member of its board of directors. BCHD is a public entity that works to enhance individual and community health by supporting the health and wellness programs for the 115,000 California residents of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach.

Paul B. Mohler, MA ’86, was elected a shareholder in the firm Heller Ehrman in San Francisco. He concentrates on energy industry matters in the firm’s Washington office and has experience with natural gas producers and pipelines, oil pipelines, electronic utilities, and energy industry restructuring. He previously served as a trial attorney in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Administra-tive Litigation and also was deputy director of the Division of Special Pipeline Rates.

New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey named Ted Zangari, BA ’86, a co-chair of a blue ribbon panel with State Commerce Secretary William Watley that studied the state’s economic development incentives for retaining and attracting business. Zangari, a commercial real estate attorney, also serves as that industry sector’s representative on the Governor’s Commission on Jobs, Growth, and Economic Development. He is a member of the firm Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross in Newark, N.J.

For the last 10 years, Lori Petitti, MBA ’89, has worked in Los Angeles as a television producer. This year, she launched her own company, Hip Line Media, which produces instructional sewing lessons on DVD. “I was able to combine my education, skills, and hobby into a business,” she reports.

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Christopher W. Cahillane, BA ’90, is a shareholder in the firm Tucker Arensberg in Pittsburgh. He practices in the firm’s litigation group.

Chase Douglas was born to proud parents Michael Brody, BA ’91, and his wife, Lisa Marie, on June 7.

A commercial litigator with WolfBlock in Philadelphia, Michael Rosenberg, BA ’91, was certified as a panelist for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Compulsory Arbitration Program. He lives in Marlton, N.J.

Jason Eckert, BA ’92, MA ’94, and his wife, Jennifer (Rosenbloom) Eckert, BBA ’92, MBA ’93, welcomed their daughter, Jordyn Ainslie, into their family Feb. 28.

Athena Rose Kerley was born April 9 to Jeff Kerley, BS ’92, and Melissa L. Georgopolis Kerley, BA ’92. Jeff is an attorney with Rissman, Weisberg in Tampa, Fla. Melissa is a mental health therapist working with children in the foster care system. The family lives in Gulfport, Fla.

For the last three years, Aziz V. Hamzaogullari, MBA ’93, has covered the technology sector as a senior equity analyst with Evergreen Investments. Now, Hamzaogullari is the company’s director of research and managing director in Boston. He and his wife, Nurgul Hamzaogullari, MBA ’97, reside with their son, Emir, in Wellesley, Mass.

As assistant attorney general in the Maryland Attorney General’s Criminal Investigations Division in Baltimore, Yosefi Seltzer, BA ’93, is responsible for investigating and prosecuting white-collar crime throughout the state. He will receive an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army after more than four years of active duty. He received his second Army Commendation Medal after completing a tour of duty with the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency in Ballston, Va., where his duties included providing environmental compliance advice Army-wide and serving as editor of the Army’s Environmental Law Bulletin. He previously served as an assistant judge advocate at the Third Infantry Division, Mechanized, in Hinesville, Ga. Seltzer and his wife, Michelle, live in his home town of Silver Spring, Md.

Jonathan D. Tarnow, BA ’93, JD ’96, is a member of the education law practice group of Drinker Biddle & Reath in Washington. His practice covers all aspects of the Higher Education Act, especially Title IV student financial aid programs. Tarnow also served for three years on GW’s Board of Trustees and was particularly active on the Information Technology and Infrastructure and Student Affairs Committees.

In New York, Racheline Maltese, BA ’94, appeared in “Counsellor-at-Law,” a production she says received rave reviews. Maltese says the company—which includes Tony Award winner John Rubinstein—hopes to bring the production to a larger stage.

While pursuing a doctorate of management in technology and information systems with a concentration in information security from the University of Maryland, University College, Roxanne B. Everetts, BA ’95, is a research fellow at Logistics Management Institute in McLean, Va.

Towson University Professor Donald Kopka, PhD ’95, received a Fulbright Scholar grant and taught two courses at the University in Da Nang College of Economics and Business Administration in Vietnam in the spring 2004 semester. Through the courses sponsored by the grant, he hopes to show the students how companies can best use their understanding of their own industry to propel growth and development.

Richard F. Johns, MPH ’95, JD ’99, in November formed the Law Offices of Richard F. Johns in Washington.

After moving to Moscow with her husband Tom Lubeck, an investment officer at the International Finance Corp., Marta Ferrer Lubeck, BA ’95, MA ’98, joined the Charities Board of the International Women’s Club of Moscow.

Residing in Tampa, Fla., with her family, Polly A. Pickering, MBA ’95, is director of information, resources, marketing, and metrics at Marriott Vacation Club International in Orlando.

As contract and marketing manager for Ortho Works, an orthotic and prosthetic company with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, Marc S. Berlin, MHSA ’96, is responsible for contracting with various managed care plans and developing new business relationships. He lives in Valley Stream, N.Y.

Arlene Black, MPA ’96, a resident of Phillips Ranch, Calif., is the area manager of the L.A. County Community Development Commission.

Paul Carr, MA ’96, EdD ’99; Gail Derrick, EdD ’01, MA ’88; and Michael Ponton, MS ’91, EdD ’99, are all professors at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. Derrick and Ponton are with the university’s School of Education doctoral program, and Carr is with the university’s School of Leadership Studies.

In November of 2003, Lt. Kellie J. Cosby, MPH ’96, joined the U.S. Public Health Service. She is a health services officer on HIV prevention issues at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Rockville, Md.

In December, Susan Davis, MPH ’96, (pictured at left) became director of development of CARE, an international relief organization. She resides in Atlanta, where she has completed two half-marathons.

The brainchild of Jennifer Sonstein Maidenberg, BA ’96, 2 Jewish Cowgirls offers Jewish-themed T-shirts, home goods, and recipes. The Tuscon, Ariz., business has been featured in Women’s Wear Daily and has gained worldwide success. More information is available at www.2jewishcowgirls.com.

Sallie Mae in February promoted Laura Gurdak, MBA ’97, to its vice president of strategic sales. She oversees the company’s custom deals for school customers, coordinates cross-selling opportunities, and administers pay-for-performance plans for the sales team. Gurdak joined the company in 1997. She is based in Reston, Va.

Chris Peterson, BA ’97, started production company Glowtone Productions, the credits of which include work for E! Entertainment Television, the Style Network, and September Films. The company also works with Heavy Melody Music & Sound Design, which opened a 1,800-square-foot, fully digital recording studio and audio post facility in Manhattan. More information is available at www.glowtoneproductions.com and www.heavymelodymusic.com.

A resident of Seminole, Fla., Dennis Rivenburgh, BS ’97, was elected president of Physician Assistants in Orthopedic Surgery, the national specialty organization for physicians working in orthopedics.

After earning a PhD in molecular cell biology from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Sharon L. Chinault, BS ’98, accepted a research fellowship in the division of metabolism, endocrinology, and lipid research at WUSM for her post-doctoral training.

In June, Dana (Reznick) Ginsburg, BA ’98, husband Paul W. Ginsburg, BA ’95, and son Nathan welcomed daughter Flora into their family. The Ginsburgs reside in Rockville, Md.

As a counterterrorism intelligence analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency, Allison M. Conti, BA ’99, provides rear support to Operation Enduring Freedom and the global war or terror. She earned her master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in May 2003, after studying in Italy for a year and working with the Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in London.

Kelly (Slinkman) Kuglitsch, MA ’99, wrote “The Changing Nature of ‘Private Promises’: The Treatment of Private Pension Plans Upon Divorce—A Historical Perspective on QDROs,” which was published in Employee Benefits Journal in June. She is an employee benefits/ERISA attorney with von Briesen & Roper in Milwaukee.

Fairview Elementary School in Fairview, Tenn., selected Catherine M. Miller, MEd ’99, its 2004 Teacher of the Year. She has been with the school since 1991 and has taught kindergarten and first grade. She now teaches the pre-kindergarten program. She also has developed a club for the parents of her students and is chair of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools committee, which facilitates the accreditation process through formalizing the school’s improvement plan. Outside the school, Miller is active in Alpha Delta Kappa International Honorary Sorority for Women Educators and holds a leadership role in the Girl Scouts of America.

An executive with Marriott International, Norman Jenkins, MBA ’99, was inaugurated as president and CEO of the National Association of Black Accountants in July. The association focuses on developing and promoting greater participation for African Americans and other members of minority groups in accounting and finance professions. Jenkins serves as vice president of Owner & Franchise Services and is the primary liaison between Marriott and its multiunit hotel owners and franchisees. He previously held management positions in finance and operations with the McDonald’s Corp.

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David B. Kellermann, MS ’00, is vice president of the mortgage portfolio investment process of Freddie Mac in McLean, Va. He is responsible for managing and coordinating all aspects of mortgage portfolio activity including the business, financial reporting, tax, and other operational issues and risks with other affected areas within the company. He previously served as director of mortgage portfolio strategy with the company. He has been with Freddie Mac since 1992. Kellerman resides in Vienna, Va.

In August of 2003, Brandon Harris Moss, BS ’00, JD ’03, and Sarah Christine Keller-Likins, BA ’01, were married in the bride’s hometown of Waterville, Maine. The best man was Michael Lacy, BS ’00, and the maid of honor was Emily Coghlan, BA ’01. Moss passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam and is a judicial law clerk for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel. Keller-Likins is a Democratic legislative researcher for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Health. They were planning a move to Boston sometime this year.

David Holt, BA ’01, is the deputy director of Oklahoma Victory, where he is responsible for coordinating President Bush’s reelection efforts in Holt’s home state. He previously worked in the White House Legislative Affairs office for two years.

In May, Julie Strachan, BA ’01, earned a juris doctor degree from New York Law School. Strachan and Rory Haiber, BA ’99, MEd ’01, were engaged in February 2003 and are planning a wedding for 2006.

In October on Kiawah Island, S.C., Seth Weinert, BBA ’01, and Emily Coghlan, BA ’01, will be married. Weinert is an associate with Jones Lang LaSalle in Washington, focusing on military housing privatization. Coghlan is a publicist with Planned Television Arts, a division of Ruder Finn, in Washington.

In New York, Jason Steinhauer, BA ’02, is assistant curator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The first exhibit he assisted, “Ours to Fight For: American Jews in the Second World War,” won the grand prize for museum exhibitions from the American Association of Museums. “New York: City of Refuge,” of which he is the curator, opened in September.

After graduating from GW, Laura Egan, BA ’03, moved to Beijing to study Mandarin. She then was hired by CLSA Asia Pacific Markets in Hong Kong, a brokerage and investment bank.

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And What About You?

Please write and tell us about your career accomplishments and personal milestones. (If you’ve changed your name since you attended GW, please include your former name.) Send your news and a photo you can spare to:

GW MAGAZINE
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www.gwmagazine.com