Postmarks
GW News
A Faculty for Writing
Alumni Events and Activities
Alumni Newsmakers

Service Notes
Ironwoman
Shaping Modern Oman
Street Smarts
Mission Accomplished
In Memoriam
Alumni Bookshelf
Artist's Corner

 


Archives
Subscribe
Contact Us
Advertising
Alumni Association
Law Alumni Association
GW News Center


Julian Stein, BS ’50, was elected to the Wakefield High School Hall of Fame in Arlington, Va., in June. He taught physical education and coached at the school for 11 years and was one of the original faculty members of the school, which dates back to 1953. He is most noted for coaching several individual state champions and teams in track and cross country.

After graduating from GW, Dorothy Camer, BS ’52, received advanced degrees, both in physical chemistry, from Clarkson and Oregon State Universities. After retiring and returning to D.C., she focused on applying her scientific and computer knowledge on designing a traffic system to “free us from auto dependency.” She self-published CarFree Mobility: How a Community Can Kick its Auto Dependency,” which is available at the GW Bookstore.

Eunice Book Hirsch, BA ’57, has lived in St. Petersburg, Fla., since 1968. After graduating from GW, she taught high school and attended the University of Miami Graduate School of Education. Her husband is a psychiatrist in private practice, and their son and daughter-in-law live nearby. She has served as a civic volunteer and mentor. “My education at GW was superb,” she writes.

For the past few years, Richard Marks, MA ’58, has taught government and politics courses as an adjunct faculty member of Essex, Dundalk, Catonsville, and Anne Arundel Community Colleges. He also taught for the Navy’s Program for Afloat College Education aboard ships, including twice in the Persian Gulf. He resides in Gambrills, Md.

With his co-author and wife, Nelly, Gus A. Mellander, BA ’59, MA ’60, PhD ’66, toured and lectured in Madrid and Rome in June to promote their latest book, Charles Magoon: The Panama Years. Mellander will retire from George Mason University in January, an event he says he is dreading. The couple will reside in Palm Beach, Fla.

Robert A. Kemp, BA ’64, received the J. Shipman Gold Medal Award from the Institute for Supply Management in May. He received the honor at the ISM’s 90th annual conference in San Antonio.

“Why retire when I can sit in front of a roaring fire and cyber edit?” asks Valerie Josephson, BA ’65. She does just that as managing editor of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical publication that focuses on occupational and environmental epidemiology. The journal went “live” on the Internet in June, allowing authors to submit manuscripts, reviewers to send comments, and editors to make editorial decisions. Josephson enjoys traveling, recently visiting Death Valley on a cycling trip. In June, she visited her daughter, Jennie Josephson, BA ’98, in Santa Maria, Calif., where she was associate producer for CBS News coverage of the Michael Jackson trial.

Retired as of 2001 from Delta Airlines after nearly 30 years, James Hoogerwerf, BA ’66, now is pursuing a postgraduate degree in history from Auburn University.

The Creative Capital Foundation, a national arts organization, awarded Peggy Diggs, BA ’68, a grant to pursue her project, Work Out. The project seeks to “produce designs for problem-solving objects for tight living spaces” and will draw on input from prison inmates from Graterford Prison in Pennsylvania. Diggs is a lecturer in arts and humanities at Williams College.

Sanford Stone, BA ’68, is a self-employed consultant with the Latin American Division of the State Department. During the past two years, he has traveled to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, working on the Plan Colombia project.

The Greater Washington/Virginia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America named Michael S. Wolly, BA ’69, JD ’72, its president. He previously served on the chapter’s board of directors and was its vice president for development. The organization aims to help find a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis through research and to improve the quality of life for individuals affected by the digestive diseases through education and support. A partner with the Washington firm Zwerdling, Paul, Kahn & Wolly, he specializes in labor and employment law representing the interests of employees and labor unions. Wolly and his wife, Valentine Nazarian, have three sons.

David R. Berz, BA ’70, JD ’73, was appointed to the New York Board of Overseers for Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion. He is a partner of the Washington office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where he heads the firm’s environmental group and focuses on the bankruptcy practice. Berz is an authority on U.S. and international environmental law and was recognized by Chambers Publications as a leading lawyer in his field. He is the co-author of a three-volume environmental treatise, Environmental Law in Real Estate and Business Transactions. Berz is active in numerous Jewish organizations in the Washington area and is former president of Washington Hebrew Congregation.

Dirk van Allen, MA ’70, has been named the recipient of Actors’ Equity Association’s 2005 Lucy Jordan Award. Van Allen, who has been a member of the association since 1992, was scheduled to receive the award at the upcoming Equity membership meeting in Los Angeles on October 7, 2005, in recognition of his contributions to the Austin, Texas, theatre community. He has been a member of many Austin theater companies, including The Austin Shakespeare Festival. He currently is in production at Don Toner’s Austin Playhouse for A Man of All Seasons. Van Allen also won a distinguished alumni achievement award from Centre College in Danville, K.Y., in 2003. He spent his career as a financial executive, most recently with Morgan Keenan, and has been a stock broker, and a naval officer.

Anne (Shoob) Kelly, MA ’71, CEO and director of the Federal Consulting Group, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, was appointed to the board of examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. In addition to a successful federal career, she holds volunteer leadership positions with Northern Virginia Healthy Families, the Historic Alexandria Foundation, and the Virginia Opera, among others.

After several years of working in China and Russia, Lindsay Gardner, BA ’72, returned to the United States with her family five years ago. She now lives in Denver with her husband and their daughter, Kendall, and reports that she is “enjoying life in the mile-high city.” Gardner is vice president of Isonics Corp., a public company focused on developing technology for homeland security and semiconductor markets. Her husband, Hank Eng, is the Asia regional director for Champion Aerospace.

Previously chairman of the National Council of Arts & Sciences for Columbian College, Charles W. Weiss, BA ’72, became mayor of the Village of Flower Hill, N.Y., in February.

John P. Ferguson, MBA ’73, president and CEO of Hackensack University Medical Center and chairman of the board of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Felician College. He delivered the commencement address before 350 graduates of the college in May. Among many other awards and accolades, Ferguson is a 2002 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

The International Academy of Trial Lawyers inducted Richard Marmaro, BA ’73, as a fellow in April. Marmaro is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Proskauer Rose, where he specializes in SEC enforcement litigation and white collar criminal defense. He also is co-chairman of the lawyers delegation to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and is past president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

The City of San Antonio presented former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Henry Cisneros, DPA ’76, DL ’84, and his wife, Mary Alice Cisneros, were the recipients of the Pioneer Award for Excellence in Housing Initiative during the 2005 Housing Summit Awards reception. The award recognizes their promotion of community organizing, home ownership, education, revitalization, and the development of livable neighborhoods. Cisneros is the founder and chairman of American CityVista. He also is the winner of the Common Ground Award for Bipartisan Cooperation for working with fellow former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp to create a bipartisan national housing agenda.

Henry Lowenstein, MBA ’76, dean of the School of Business and Public Administration at California State Bakersfield, was elected chairman of the California State University Association of Business Deans. The association represents the 23 state university business deans and directors in California along with affiliated business deans of the University of California system.

The Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations of Maryland presented Maxine A. Cohen, BA ’77, with its Who is Wise Award at its 89th annual convention in May. The honor was given for “selfless work and care for the community,” specifically pro bono efforts on behalf of the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital in Baltimore. For 21 years, she has been a freelance copywriter specializing in direct response marketing and fundraising, with clients including the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. She resides in Baltimore with her husband and would enjoy hearing from friends at copybymax@comcast.net.

Jack Dembow, MHSA ’79, was appointed president and CEO of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia. For more than 150 years, the organization has supported the needs of Jewish families, individuals, and children throughout the Delaware Valley. With more than 25 years of health care community experience, his previous service includes simultaneous appointments as vice president of the Jefferson Health System and Einstein Health Network. Dembow previously was CEO of Belmont Behavioral Health.

The Society for Human Resource Management has appointed Keith Greene, BBA ’79, as its vice president for member relations. He has been with the organization for 12 years and previously was director of organizational programs. Greene is a board member for Center for Disease Control’s Business and Labor Responds to AIDS group and also the Friends of the National Zoo.

In July, Lydia A. Rice, MBA ’79, went to France with the Washington Chorus, performing in the southern region as well as Lyon and Paris. Rice is an accountant for the Department of Justice and resides in Rockville, Md.

Jeffrey Nash, BA ’80, received the Pro-Beneficio-Dato Distinguished Public Service Award at Camden County College’s commencement ceremony in May. The award is presented annually to individuals who demonstrate high levels of service to the college and their community. Nash is an attorney with Cozen O’Connor.

From April 29 to May 10, Thomas Curtis, BA ’81, MS ’95, and his wife, Stephanie, were part of People to People International’s Global Peace Initiative in Egypt, a delegation of nearly 200. The mission of the trip was to learn about the culture and lifestyle of Egypt and its people and to promote peace. Curtis and his wife reside in Rockville, Md.

Recently moving to the Baltimore-Washington area after living in Tennessee and Georgia, Melanie Richardson, BA ’81, is pursuing a career as an information analyst. She previously worked in public relations and technical writing and earned a Master of Arts degree in art history from Vanderbilt University.

James Antonio, MA ’83, was appointed vice president for enrollment management at the University of New Haven and began work in July. He previously was vice president for enrollment management at Frostburg State University in Maryland.

In November, Joseph Scafetta Jr., MBA ’83, was named special counsel to the intellectual property firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt in Alexandria, Va. He resides in Falls Church, Va.

From 1991 to 1993, Oldemar Tello, BS ’84, worked as a contractor with PriceWaterhouse in Saudi Arabia. He now is a certified senior project manager with IBM.

Robert W. Whiting, MBA ’85, is vice president of strategic engagements at Avue Technologies, which provides Web-based digitized human resource services to federal government agencies. He is retired as the deputy director of the office of human resources management of the Department of Agriculture.

As director of the library at Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., Andrew V. Armstrong, BA ’87, oversaw the planning and construction of a new, 40,000-square-foot library facility that opened last year.

A resident of Chevy Chase, Md., where she lives with her husband and two children, Bonnie (Genkin) Green, MA ’87, was promoted to assistant general counsel of Sodexho Inc., in Gaithersburg, Md.

William J. Lutz, BA ’89, joined Tucker Ellis & West as counsel in its Los Angeles office in March. He is a member of the firm’s trial department and practices in insurance coverage. Lutz is a member of the Orange County Bar Association as well as the State Bars of California, New York, and New Jersey.

In Boston, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo named James Wodarski, BA ’89, a partner of the firm. He practices in the litigation section and his trial experience includes complex business litigation, trademark litigation, products liability, and intellectual property.

Ashley (Suhler) Tobin, BA ’90, MPA ’04, and Robert Tobin, BA ’92, were married in November in Washington. They reside in Arlington, Va.

A senior intelligence analyst for Science Applications International Corp. in McLean, Va., where he supports the U.S. Intelligence Community’s National Counterterrorism Center, Jeff Johnson, BA ’91, is a captain with the Navy Reserve Intelligence Command. He has served the Navy for more than 30 years.

A resident of Toledo, Ohio, Peverly Jo Hormann, BA ’92, is editor of Exchange Today, a publication of the National Exchange Club. The club is an all-volunteer, national service organization for those seeking to serve their community, develop leadership skills, and enjoy new friendships. It is made up of 850 clubs and 28,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

The University of Virginia Patent Foundation has bestowed its highest honor, the Edlich-Henderson Inventor of the Year Award, on John Hunt, MD ’92, and colleague Benjamin M. Gaston. The two pediatricians develop medical devices to diagnose and treat lung disease, particularly asthma. Hunt is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine.

In 2003, Marika Luiso, MA ’93, moved to Wellington, New Zealand, and now is a senior strategic policy analyst with the New Zealand Customs Service.

A resident of Gaithersburg, Md., Scott V. Nystrom, PhD ’93, was appointed executive director for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, to be held in Washington. The conference, held every 10 years, is designed to develop research and action recommendations for America’s older workers and retirees.

Emily Danyluk, BA ’94, completed a Master of Science in economics degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In March, she left for Kazakhstan as a member of the Peace Corps.

Leigh Evanson, MA ’94, was promoted to director of the International Health Group at Chemonics International. She resides in Washington.

Habitat for Humanity of Colorado appointed Stefka Czarnecki Fanchi, BA ’94, its executive director. She and her husband, Jeff, have two children: Isabella Marie and Naomi Felicitas, who was born in September 2004.

Elizabeth Gromada, BA ’94, completed a Master of Education in secondary education degree from Xavier University and runs a concierge business from her home. She also directs the marketing department of her husband’s catering business. Gromada has two children, 8-year-old Konrad and 9-month-old Karenna.

On July 1, twins Aden and Maille were born to Amanda (Wilton) Ianniruberto, BA ‘’94, and A. Michael Ianniruberto, BA ’94.

In May, Jana I. Preis, BS ’94, MPH ’97, graduated from medical school and started a residency training program in internal medicine at Maimonides Medical Center in New York. She produces and anchors the weekly medical program MEDEXPRESS on international Russian cable channel RTN-WMNB. At the American Medical Student Association’s 50th Conference, she received an award for a research project in the category of community health and preventive medicine.

Shawn Raymond, BA ’94, was elected partner at Susman Godfrey in Houston. In June, he was named a “rising star” by Texas Monthly; in December he was named a “lawyer on the fast track” by H Texas Magazine.

While pursuing an advanced degree in information technology at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Colleen Gibney, MA ’95, works on university-industry technology collaboration and commercialization for the City University of New York.

CBS Evening News with Dan Rather featured Stephen Vivien, MPA ’95, in a story about President Bush’s proposal to privatize social security, to which Vivien is opposed. He is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against MCI Worldcom regarding employee 401(k) plans.

Todd Dennett, BA ’96, earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington in March. He accepted a position in global health advocacy with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle.

In New York in November, Karin Weinberg, BA ’96, and Ben Eyler, BA ’95, were married. Weinberg is a producer with ABC Network News in New York.

In July, K. David Burns, BA ’97, traveled to Benin, West Africa, to serve as an English teacher and HIV awareness and prevention educator for the Peace Corps. Burns recently graduated with the dual degrees of Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Civil Law from Louisiana State University Law School.

Craig Johnson, MA ’97, was detailed from the National Nuclear Security Administration to the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee to serve as a nuclear terrorism policy adviser. He resides in Arlington, Va.

Director of internet Services for auction house EAC Gallery in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., Brad Shafran, BA ’98, was married in June to Allison Kamler. They reside in Hewlett, N.Y.

In October 2004, Marc J. Birnbaum, BA ’99, married Katherine E. Stott, whom he met at Tulane Law School. Groomsmen included Oscar H. Jovel Jr., BA ’99, and Jason R. Cohen, BA ’00, MBA ’02. The best man was David P. Mason, BA ’00. Birnbaum and his wife reside in Reston, Va., and both are employed as assistant commonwealth’s attorneys (state prosecutors) in Fairfax County, Va.

Jill Hasegawa, BA ’99, recently joined the firm Ashford & Wriston as an associate. She resides in Honolulu.

After recently earning an International Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business, Jason McKellar, BA ’99, accepted a position with the program management office of Citigroup’s Technology Infrastructure Division in New York.

After graduating with a Master of Science in Education in elementary education degree from Hunter College in New York, where she was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, Stacey Shubitz, BA ’99, now is working on a degree in literacy at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College and teaching fifth grade in East Harlem.


When men’s basketball alumnus Antxon Iturbe, BA ’01, and gymnast alumna Becca Gruber, BBA ’01, married July 9 in Massachusetts, many other Colonials attended the festivities. (Back row, from left:) Scott Lurie, BBA ’00; Jeff Kaiser, BA ’00; basketball alumnus Rasheed Hazzard, BA ’98; volleyball alumna Julie Jahnke, BA ’01; groom Iturbe and bride Gruber; Margie Cunningham, head gymnastics coach; Meena Flynn BA ’99; gymnastics alumnae Lindsey Ferris BS ’01 and Lori Chaitman BA ’96, MBA ’99; and maid of honor, gymnastics alumna Lisa Gruber, BA ’98. Also in attendance but not pictured was athletic academic coordinator Karen Ercole.

David Fiscus, MA ’00, works at the Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center in Salt Lake City. He and his wife, Emaline (Mills) Fiscus, had a baby boy, Ralph, in January.

A resident of Houston, Joshua Keidan, BA ’00, reports that during “an exciting five years” after graduation, he has volunteered with the Magan David Adom ambulance service for six months. For a year and a half, he visited Korea, where he taught English in a hagwon, similar to a private institute, as well as volunteered in an orphanage.

Residing in Manhattan, Benjamin Mastaitis, BA ’00, is an attorney. He is an avid runner.

Stefanie Greenberg, BBA ’01, was promoted to marketing manager at Dow Jones in New York, where she is responsible for marketing of venture capital business-to-business databases, newsletters, publications, and conferences. This is her second promotion within a year and a half at the company.

Residing in Washington, Anslie Stokes, BBA ’01, is a licensed realtor with Best Address Real Estate and practices in Washington and Maryland.

In June, the Development Gateway Foundation in Washington promoted Deborah L. Holston, MS ’02, to the position of chief financial officer. She joined the foundation in January 2004 as a controller. She previously spent five years at public accounting and technology consulting firm Tate and Tryon.

Joel Kennedy, MBA ’02, relocated to San Diego, where he is senior operations manager with Capital One Auto Finance. He has climbed Mount Whitney and is training to complete the AIDS Lifecycle, a 585-mile bike event from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

A resident of Jacksonville, Fla., where he recently purchased a home, Craig H. Lipinski, MBA ’02, accepted a position as a financial consultant with Resources Global Professionals. He is studying for his chartered financial analyst exam. A recent consulting engagement was working for Winn-Dixie, helping with the asset rationalization initiative and company restructuring.

After a two-year hiatus to raise her son, Benjamin, Jyl Safier, MBA ’02, began a career as co-founder of a social venture capital investment fund where she is executive administrator and director of communications. They closed their first fund in the first quarter of 2005 and will invest in businesses in New Mexico.

Mark SooHoo, BA ’02, was named a “rising star” in politics by Campaigns & Elections Magazine. He is vice president at Campaign Solutions, a firm in Alexandria, Va., that focuses on online political consulting and fundraising for national candidates and organizations.

In November in Barnesville, Md., Julie K. (Butler) Abshire, BA ’03, married Shaun Z. Abshire. She commutes between working in Washington during the week and their new home in Wyandotte, Mich.

Owen Pengelly, MA ’03, moved home to London in October. He works on cross-government foreign policy challenges at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office.

Library Journal named James Walther, EdD ’03, one of 51 outstanding librarians in its annual, receiving the publication’s annual Movers & Shakers Award. The honorees were selected from among more than 150,000 librarians in the United Sates and Canada. Walther is director of training and development for New York Public Library Branch Libraries.

Holland America Cruise Line appointed Jeremy Gordon, BA ’04, its musical director.

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
The George Washington University
2121 Eye Street, N.W., #512
Washington, D.C. 20052
or call up www.gwmagazine.com