The 1950s

Ellen Shea, AA ’52, a past president of the Christ Child Society from 1980 to 1981, was honored at the society’s annual fundraising gala in February for her dedication to the program. The nonprofit organization provides support and services to underprivileged inner-city children. Shea lives in Bethesda, Md.

Native Washingtonian Doris Margolis, BA ’58, was named president of the Rotary Foundation of Washington, D.C., a charitable corporation that supports local causes. Margolis is president and chief executive officer of Editorial Associates, an editorial services firm. In addition to her foundation duties, Margolis also serves as the Rotary International representative to the World Bank and is a past president of the Rotary Club of Washington, D.C.

The 1960s

University of Illinois professor of microbiology Abigail A. Salyers, BA ’63, PhD ’69, was presented with the 2009 American Society for Microbiology Graduate Teaching Award for the distinguished teaching of microbiology and mentoring of students at the graduate and post graduate levels.

Stephen H. Frye, MD ’68, has been advocating for the Netherlands to receive a Nobel Prize for what he calls a “smart” approach to drug policy. His book, We Really Lost This War! Twenty-five Reasons to Legalize Drugs, argues for a change in policy.

The 1970s

Melvin R. Bielawski, MS ’70, retired from the Department of Defense and runs a consulting business that provides technical support to the U.S. Army and various contractors in the Washington, D.C., area. Bielawski is also a writer, and his most recent publication, The Corner: A WWII Era Story of a Neighborhood, chronicles a Polish American neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio. He is currently involved in writing two other books—one fiction and one non-fiction.

Susan S. Sher, BA ’70, was appointed to President Barack Obama’s administration as associate counsel to the president. In her new position, she will work on legal issues associated with health care and will advise first lady Michelle Obama. Sher worked with Michelle Obama when the first lady was vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Sher previously served as vice president for legal and governmental affairs and was general counsel of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Gen. Colin Powell, MBA ’71, was named an honorary co-chair for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

The U.S. government named Edward Liddy, MBA ’72, to succeed the former chief executive of the American International Group Inc. Previously Liddy was chief executive of insurer Allstate Corp. from 1999 until 2006, and he served as chairman until he stepped down in 2008.

Linda D. Rabbitt, MA ’72, founder and CEO of Rand Construction Corp., was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame, which honors outstanding local entrepreneurs. Rabbitt has been the recipient of an Outstanding Impact Award by the Commercial Real Estate Women. She also received a Women Who Make a Difference Award from the International Women’s Forum. Rabbitt serves on the board of trustees at The George Washington University.

John P. Ferguson, MBA ’73, was honored with the New England Healthcare Assembly’s Trustee Leadership Award for “significant contributions of a hospital trustee whose personal courage and achievements have been of exceptional value to health care.” Ferguson, who is president and chief executive officer of Hackensack University, was also ranked No. 12 in Modern Healthcare magazine’s “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.” He has been included on the roster for the past five years.

Howard Gershon, MA ’73, was appointed to the Council of Regents, the legislative body of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As a regent, he will represent ACHE’s membership in New Mexico. Gershon is a member of the American Hospital Association, the author of several articles on health care management, and a frequent speaker at national conferences.

Bob Lavigna, BA ’74, was elected as a 2008 fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonpartisan organization chartered by Congress to help public organizations improve their effectiveness. Fellows provide insight and experience as they oversee academy projects and provide general guidance. Since 2006, Lavigna has been the vice president of research for the Washington-based nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.

Russell Libby, BA ’74, MD ’79, is founder, president, and medical director of Virginia Pediatric Group in Fairfax, Va., and Herndon, Va., as well as co-founder, vice president, and medical director of American Pediatric Consultants Inc., which provides pediatric home health care to patients in Fairfax, Va. Libby is currently chief of the general pediatric section at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. He has been acknowledged as the best pediatrician in the Washington metropolitan area by Families Magazine for 10 years and is listed among the top doctors in the Washington metropolitan area by Washingtonian Magazine. Libby is also the host of two monthly health care-focused television programs: To Your Health and Dr. Libby’s World of Medicine.

Philippe W. Ouellette Jr., MPA ’75, chairman of the board of directors at The Citadel military academy was named to the National Association of Credit Union Chairmen’s board of directors. He was elected to a three-year term on the board and to the position of secretary for the 2008-09 term.

C. Douglass Couto, MS ’76, MBA ’83, has joined Citrix Systems’ state and local government team as director of transportation at the East Lansing, Mich., office. He is responsible for helping state and local government IT leaders make solid IT investments to improve desktop performance and software responsiveness. Couto previously served as the agency services information officer for the Michigan Department of Information Technology.

Law management consultant practice Robin Rolfe Resources hired Nils Victor Montan, MS ’77, as senior consultant. Previously, Montan served as vice president and senior IP counsel for Warner Bros. He is a past president of International Trademark Association and was elected chairman, and later chief executive officer, of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition.

Roetzel & Andress in Akron, Ohio, announced that Laurence S. Litow, BS ’78, has joined the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., office as a partner. Litow has experience handling construction lien and construction defect litigation, shareholder and partnership disputes, real estate, banking, fraud, probate, trust, and bankruptcy litigation.

Robin Lee Portnoy, BA ’78, accepted a position in residential real estate sales at Corcoran Group Real Estate in New York, N.Y. Portnoy joined the company after completing the sale of Robin Portnoy & Co., a retainer-based executive search firm, which she founded in 1998.

Mark Reiley, MD ’79, was awarded the 2008 Phoenix Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine for his invention of the Kyphoplasty spine fracture balloon. The development offers a minimally invasive treatment to patients who have suffered a spine fracture due to osteoporosis.

Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir named Laura Stone, BA ’79, JD ’82, as shareholder at the Pittsburgh law firm. Stone, a member of the business services and public sector services groups, was previously senior counsel to the firm.

The 1980s

Sequenom Inc. in San Diego named Allan T. Bombard, MD ’80, to the newly created position of chief medical officer, where he will oversee Sequenom’s clinical and medical affairs. Sequenom Inc. provides genetic analysis products that translate the results of genomic science into solutions for noninvasive prenatal diagnostics, biomedical research, translation research, and molecular medicine applications. Bombard is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, and a life member of the American College of Physician Executives.

Kathy Frommer, BA ’80, has been named to McQuade Children’s Services’ board of directors. While president and chief executive officer of CRS Retail Systems, she helped launch a mentoring program at the children’s service organization.

Sandra Jarva Weiss, BA ’80, JD ’83, was named partner at the Lehigh Valley, Pa., law firm Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino after serving as of counsel. She has experience in all areas of regulation. Jarva Weiss is a member of the health law sections of the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and District of Columbia Bar Associations, the American Bar Association, and the American Health Lawyers Association.

A senior budget analyst with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Michael Ditkoff, MBA ‘81, was awarded the Chief Financial Officer’s Management Award for Exemplary Performance from the Department of Homeland Security. Ditkoff developed and launched a successful national training program to correct processing and reporting problems in personnel payroll and budget data.

Trinity Senior Living Communities, Michigan’s largest long-term care and senior housing company, appointed William J. Healy, MHSA ’81, as chief operating officer. Healy has nearly 25 years of experience in the senior housing and long-term care industry. Most recently, he served as partner and senior vice president of Hamlyn, a consulting firm specializing in marketing, research, and management of senior living facilities. He and his family live in Pinckney, Mich.

Roberto Corrada, BA ’82, is the Donald & Susan Sturm Professor for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he focuses his attention on three primary areas: the rights of ethnic and sexual minorities; the public/private distinction in labor and employment law; and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Corrada has published articles on these subjects in the Houston Law Review, the Miami Law Review, the Catholic University Law Review, the Berkeley Journal of Labor & Employment Law, and the Journal of Legal Education, among others, and was selected as a Carnegie scholar in 2000.

Wayne P. Hunt, Ed.D. ’82, was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Counseling Psychology. Hunt, the clinical director of mental health for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in 2008.

Former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced the appointment of Juan P. Osuna, BA ’85, as chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Prior to his appointment, Osuna served in various senior editorial and management positions at West Group (now Thomson West), a leading legal publisher, where he was responsible for a number of publications on immigration and nationality law.

eInstruction, a global provider of interactive learning solutions, welcomed Samir Joglekar, BS ’86, as senior vice president of global sales and marketing. Joglekar is responsible for providing overall sales and marketing leadership for kindergarten through 12th grade, higher education, and international markets. Prior to joining eInstruction, Joglekar led Dell’s enterprise sales team for the U.S. public sector.

Lisa C. Clark, MBA ’87, founder and CEO of Textiles for Thinkers, had her products featured on the Warner Bros. sitcom “Big Bang Theory.” Warner Bros. used Thinker Clothing for costumes during the Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 episodes. For more information on Thinker Clothing, visit www.ThinkerClothing.com.

Former ABC News Executive David Eaton, BA ’87, has been named director of communications and marketing at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Eaton most recently was ABC’s chief of the southern and western bureaus. He also managed the network’s Kuwait bureau during the Gulf War and established an office in Albania during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. Eaton was part of a team that earned a Peabody Award for coverage of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. He and his wife, Joan, and their three children live in Waterville.

Pasquale J. Rocco Jr., BA ’87, and his wife, Susan, announce the birth of their third child, Antonin Clement, on Dec. 22, 2008. “Nino,” who weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces, was welcomed to their Pittsburgh home by big sister Silvana and big brother Dominic. Pasquale Rocco is director of research at Twin Capital Management.

Kurt Volker, MA ’87, was sworn in as the 19th United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in July 2008. A career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Volker previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs from July 2005 until June 2008. His wife, Karen Volker, MA ’87, is also a U.S. Foreign Service officer.

Valerie A. Yarashus, BA ’87, was elected president-elect of the Massachusetts Bar Association for the 2008-09 year. Yarashus is a founding partner of Yarashus, Wagner, Cook, Freiberger, & Washienko in Boston, where she concentrates in plaintiff’s trial practice and other general liability cases. She was awarded the Weidermann Wysocki Citation of Excellence from the American Association for Justice for her commitment. She and her four children live in Holliston, Mass.

The Euclid Hunger Center in Euclid, Ohio, awarded Jeffrey J. Fanger, BA ’88, the 2008 Thomas G. Woods Humanitarian Award for his dedication to the center’s mission of feeding the community’s underprivileged. Fanger has been actively involved with the Euclid Hunger Center since 2002, providing legal counsel and assistance to the board. His firm, Fanger & Adelman, Attorneys and Counselors at Law, is located in Cleveland.

William L. Fox, PhD ’89, was elected as the 18th president of St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. Fox previously served as the president and senior lecturer of Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., since May 2003. His past faculty appointments include those at Howard University School of Divinity, Montgomery College in Maryland, and Goucher College.

Tucker Ellis & West announced that William Lutz, BA ’89, was elected partner. Previously, Lutz was of counsel to the firm’s Los Angeles office, where he will continue his practice as a member of the trial department.

As president and chief learning officer of Team Builders Plus, Merrick Rosenberg, BA ’89, accepted the award for New Jersey Business of the Year. The company, which conducts team building, performance coaching, and leadership training for organizations worldwide, was also honored as one of the top 50 businesses that have made significant contributions to the growth, strength, and success of New Jersey.

Paul Rubin, BA ’89, joined the staff of the Atlanta-based public relations firm Carabiner Communications. He has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and technology journalism, and he hopes to combine both in his new position serving Carabiner’s technology clients.

The 1990s

Capt. Jeff W. Johnson, MA ’91, retired on Nov. 24 as a Navy intelligence officer after 37 and a half years of naval service. He continues to serve as a senior systems engineer/intelligence analyst for Science Applications International Corp.

Thompson Coburn announced that Thomas Sean McGowan, BA ’91, was elected to partnership in the firm. McGowan is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, where he practices in the transportation and international commerce group.

Diane Grzyb Lebson, BA ’92, was selected to represent the District of Columbia as Mrs. District of Columbia International for 2009. She will use her 15 years of experience working in philanthropy as the platform for her year-long reign—finding ways to highlight the role individual women can play to make philanthropy a priority in their families, careers, and social activities. Lebson will also work to raise awareness for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, which promotes the importance of heart health for women.

Natasha Breines Museles, MPA ’92, was appointed chief development officer of the Jewish Social Service Agency in Rockville, Md. Previously, Museles was the senior director of development at the Asbury Foundation and the director of major gifts at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Foundation.

Thomas Rowland, PhD ’92, a senior lecturer of history at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, received a Distinguished Teaching Award for the 2008-09 year. A researcher in 19th century U.S. history, Rowland published In the Shadows of Grant and Sherman: George B. McClellan and Civil War History in 1999 and has been contracted to write a biography of President Franklin Pierce.

Jon Schmidt, BS ’92, MS ’94, received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations at its 16th annual conference in Cleveland primarily for his work chairing the editorial board for the organization’s official magazine, STRUCTURE. He was also named in the January 2009 issue of Building Design+Construction as one of the top young professionals in the industry as part of that magazine’s annual “40 Under 40” recognition program.

Kristen Shepherd Denner, BA ’93, MA ’98, was appointed director of membership and annual fund at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where she will promote individual philanthropy and support for the arts. Denner was also a speaker at the 2009 Inaugural Salon in Washington, D.C., on the importance of revitalizing America’s passion for and commitment to the arts.

Professor and chair of the Criminal Justice Department at California State University, Long Beach, Henry F. Fradella, MFS ’93, JD ’93, was named the recipient of the 2008-09 Fellows Award from the Western Society of Criminology. Fradella has been a faculty member of California State University, Long Beach, since 2007.

Shawn Raymond, BA ’94, was profiled in Texas Super Lawyer’s Rising Stars edition for his co-founding of the U.S. Public Service Academy, which aims to create a national university designed to develop young leaders dedicated to public service.

Sonia Schmitt, BS ’94, MS ’95, ScD ’02, accepted a job as director of business and marketing for Lockheed Martin in Washington, D.C. Schmitt works with U.S. defense agencies in evolving mission needs, adopting new technologies, increasing program visibility, and assisting with budget planning. As part of the government affairs team, she interacts with customers, industry vendors, think tanks, and trade associations. She has traveled to more than 40 countries and hopes to visit Vietnam later this year.

Christopher Capece, BBA ’95, was named a 2009 recipient of the 40 Under 40 Awards by the Long Island Business News. Capece is a development director responsible for acquisition and development activity in the Long Island real estate market for AvalonBay Communities Inc. He is also an active member of several housing advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations in the New York metro area, including Action Long Island Housing Task Force and the YMCA of Long Island.

George B. Donnini, BA ’95, was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Up and Coming Lawyers: A Salute to the Rising Stars of the Michigan Bar. Donnini is an attorney and shareholder with Butzel Long law firm in Detroit.

Justin Plunkett, BBA ’96, and Lisa (Coppola) Plunkett, BS ’98, welcomed their second child, Tyler Thomas Plunkett, in July 2008. Additionally, Justin Plunkett was promoted to director of territory sales at Cardinal Health, where he leads the Mid-Atlantic regional sales force servicing the independent retail pharmacy and alternate care markets.

Bonnie Zucker, BA ’96, and her husband, Brian Leventhal, had a son, Isaac Reid Leventhal, on Oct. 1. The family lives in North Bethesda, Md.

Emily Charette, BA ’98, and Matthew Tracy, BA ’99, were married in a small ceremony on Atlantic Beach, Fla., on Feb. 16, 2008. Tracy is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, and Charette is the director of development at Florida Coastal School of Law. They live in Jacksonville, Fla.

David E. Deitz, BA ’98, and his wife, Erin, welcomed their second child, Meghan Claire, to their family. They reside in Cherry Hill, N.J.

In December, Brandon Meyer, MA ’98, received his JD from the University of San Diego School of Law. Meyer published several scholarly articles in 2008, including “Convergence or Divergence? Assessing the Possibilities for the Development of a Common European Union Immigration Policy,” and “Free Trade Agreements, Visas, and the Art of Suboptimal Outcomes: Was the Theory of the Second Best Ever Good Enough? Part I.” He serves as the principal of Meyer Consulting Company in Solana Beach, Calif., where he lives with his wife, Christine, and his daughters Karly and Alessandra.

Anne Miller, BA ’98, received a Master of Science degree in Human Computer Interaction from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is now a news producer at AOL.com in New York City, where she lives with her fiancé, Michael Davoli.

Col. Sharon I. Richie-Melvan, PhD ’98, was elected to the board of directors of the Military Officers Association of America, the nation’s largest veteran’s organization for active duty, National Guard, Reserve, former and retired military officers, and their spouses. She will serve in the position for six years. Richie-Melvan was a White House Fellow, has served in the Pentagon, and has worked in Army hospitals in Washington, D.C., Texas, Germany, California, and Maryland. She lives in Inverness, Fla.

On Aug. 12, 2008, Lisa Gruber Sellitto, BA ’98, and her husband, Tino Sellitto, welcomed the birth of their daughter, Sienna Lehua Sellitto. The family lives in San Francisco.

Marco Cercone, MPA ’99, joined the Buffalo, N.Y., law firm of Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham & Coppola as a litigation attorney focusing on commercial and first-party litigation. The firm represents a cross-section of local and national clients, and it is composed of experienced corporate, real estate, and trial attorneys.

Scott A. Kamins, MA ’99, was appointed to deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Kamins previously served as the director of house affairs at the State Department and director of congressional and public affairs at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

Sharon Narson, BBA ’99, MSIS ’99, married Douglas Parobeck on March 8, 2008. Fellow Colonials Alejo Jumat, BBA ’99, MSIS ’99; Denise Isaac, BBA ’99; Melissa Ellman, BBA ’97; Nadege Besson-Rouse, BA ’98; Joyce Capati, BA ’97; Nicole Sacks Buckner, BA ’98, MA ’05; Jasmine Koscielski, BBA ’97, Matthew Kolodny, BBA ’97; and Eric Capati, BBA ’98, attended the celebration.

Brittany Whiting, BA ’99, helped publish the United Nations Environment Programme’s “Saving the Ozone Layer—Phasing out Ozone Depleting Substances in Developing Countries,” a training manual for customs officers. Since graduating, she has worked in 23 countries. She now works on global trade issues with Advanced Micro Devices in Austin, Texas.

The 2000s

Sayanaa Lkhagvasuren, MA ’00, was elected to vice president of Junior Chamber International at the JCI World Congress held in New Delhi, India, in November. Founded in 1915, JCI is one of the leading worldwide federations of young leaders and entrepreneurs, which works with the mission to create development opportunities for young leaders that empower them to make a positive change. Lkhagvasuren has been assigned to eight national organizations of Eastern European countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Russia, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine.

Patrick M. Murphy, MA ’00, was named managing director of the Notre Dame Energy Center. A former program manager in charge of electric power systems research for the Department of Homeland Security, Murphy will help formulate a cohesive and sound energy plan for Notre Dame and act as an energy liaison with government officials.

Ken Rogers Jr., BS ’00, and Rachel Rosenblum Rogers, BA ’00, welcomed the birth of their daughter, Maya Lianne, on Aug. 20 in Port Orchard, Wash. Ken is a nuclear engineer for the Department of the Navy, and Rachel is a human resources generalist for AMSEC LLC.

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis announced that Peter Colonna-Romano, BA ’01, joined the litigation services department in the firm’s Philadelphia office. In the summer of 2006, he served as a judicial intern to Hon. Mary L. Cooper, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Christina Marie Nabholz, BA ’01, and Daniel McLeod were married on June 21, 2008, in Morristown, N.J. Other alumni in attendance were Ericka Alonso, BA ’01, MA ’04; Megan Mowday Taylor, BA ’01; Melinda Miner, BA ’01; Laurie Kaufman, BA ’01; Jamie Corbman, BA ’01; Janice Friedeborn Buck, BBA ’01; Ashwini Puttaswamy, BBA ’01; and John Dunn, BA ’03. The couple honeymooned in Greece and Turkey, and they live in New York, N.Y.

Daniel Smith, BA ’01, and Katherine N. Thalmann were married on April 19 in Durham, N.C. Fellow GW alumna Rachel Chute, BA ’01, served as the groom’s honor attendant. The couple honeymooned in the British Virgin Islands. Thalmann, a hematology-oncology nurse at Duke University Medical Center, was expecting the couple’s first child in January.

BB&T promoted Tung Dao, MBA ’02, to vice president. Dao joined the bank in 2003 and is a certified business services officer in the commercial loans department. He lives in northern Virginia.

Edward Logan, MSPM ’03, was the winner of the 2008 International Project Management Association’s International Young Project Manager Award for his superior work performance in the application of project management principles and techniques at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He received the award in November at the IPMA 22nd World Congress on Project Management in Rome, Italy. Logan also presented a paper at the conference titled “A New Face of the Philippine Government: e-Gov Redefining the Role of the Public Manager.” Logan is deputy program manager for ManTech International, a U.S. government consulting company in Virginia.

Andrea D. Schrag, BA ’03, joined the human resources client service department at Graydon Head & Ritchey of Cincinnati. She will focus on labor and employment law.

Erika Gronek, MA ’05, and Brad Gronek announced the birth of their son, Adrian August Gronek, on June 9, 2008. Adrian weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces. The family lives in Phoenix.

Sarah Newcomer Konopka, BA ’05, completed her service in the Peace Corps in Tanzania. She returned to the United States briefly to visit family but has now returned to Tanzania, where she is working for a U.K.-based non-governmental organization doing micro-finance. In the position, Konopka is helping to restructure the existing credit scheme and develop business and technical training programs. In addition, Konopka is working with the Changarawe Project, where she assists with HIV/AIDS activities, including running a school for orphans, supporting elderly caretakers, and providing educational training in the Changarawe village.

Naval aviator Greg David Raelson, BA ’05, received his Wings of Gold on Aug. 29 and will be transferring with his wife, Beverly Raelson, BA ’02, to Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif., to fly the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet with the VFA-122 Flying Eagles.

Kathryn Collora, BA ’06, and Robert Hash, BA ’07, were married on Aug. 9, 2008, in Louisville, Ky. More than 20 GW alumni were in attendance.

Last summer, Michael Greenwald, BA ’06, who works for the State Department’s Public-Private Partnership, led a delegation of lawyers from Afghanistan, including Attorney General Jabbar Sabit, to a seminar in Los Angeles. The partnership has been working to strengthen the legal training of Afghani lawyers.

Kaytee Riek, BS ’06, was named a Do Something Plum Grant Winner for being a promising young leader. The New York City nonprofit organization rewarded Riek for her project called Global ACCESS (AIDS Coalition for the Civic Engagement and Smart Solutions), which has significantly contributed to the world’s fight against AIDS. Riek has trained low-income people living with AIDS in advocacy and community organizing skills. The project offers in-depth and comprehensive leadership, advocacy, and organizing skills for domestic and global AIDS activists. Riek won a $500 grant from the nonprofit to aid the program’s continued success.

Alison Marie Devenny, BA ’07, has been accepted into the exchange programs at The Escuela Superior de Administracion y Direccion de Empresas in Barcelona, Spain. She hopes to develop her management skills to complement her experience in finance at Deutsche Bank.

William Donovan, BA ’07, accepted a position as a journalist at Daily Star in Beirut, Lebanon. Donovan previously was employed at PayStream Advisors as a consultant of supply chain finance and AP automation.

Jacqueline B. Kohns, CPS Grad. Cert. ’07, was named senior vice president, insurance administration, responsible for third party and policyholder administration including claims, audit and compliance coordination, and oversight of information systems at BCS.  Kohns joined BCS in 2001 and has more than 25 years of financial and administrative experience in the insurance, managed care, and reinsurance industries.  She earned her law degree and was admitted to the bar in 2004. 

William Phillips, MBA ’07, is joining the Washington, D.C., branch of AXA Advisors, a financial planning and investment firm. He will advise both individuals and small businesses on sound investments.

Petra Horna, BBA ’08, has joined EwingCole, an award-winning architecture and engineering firm. Horna works in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as the director of business development.

Scott Goldschmidt, BA ’08, has donated a year of full time community service through City Year Washington, D.C., a program that unites people ages 17-24 for a year of service, focusing on literacy tutoring, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and youth leadership development within the D.C. community.

Erica M. Riggio, MFA ’08, has started her own design firm, Riggio Design Consultants, and has partnered with her former GW professor to open an art gallery, Design Studio. The gallery is located in the Hyattsville Arts District at 5702 Baltimore Ave. in Hyattsville, Md.