K A T I E W E T H M A N

after about 29 years in the banking industry. I wanted to spend some quality time with my son, who was in his senior year of high school. Yes, he graduated. He was admitted to six universities across the country, including UVA, which we visited in March. But eventually, he decided to attend UC Irvine for computer science. My daughter is now a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. This summer, we spent a great time together as a family on a vacation binge. We went to North Carolina, Germany, Austria, Hawaii and San Francisco, California, and enjoyed every step of the way.

“In addition to family time, my plate has been full. In spring, I completed FBI Citizens Academy, a thoroughly informative and fun program. I am also elected as VP of Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Arizona (www.azmys.org), and established a scholarship in honor of my late wife, Weiwen. In addition, I am serving as an advisor for Asian Corporate and Entrepreneur Leaders, a national 503c organization, and helping them with their mentoring program. I also ran into Katie Wethman who was in Arizona for a conference. This fall, I will explore New England’s foliage and attempt to hike Grand Canyon R2R for the second time.”

Long time since we have heard from

Laura Paul. She was kind enough to send an update: “All is well in London, U.K. Jeff and I have been spending part of each summer in the United States since we moved to London in 2019. Mostly to see family and friends … and working from the beach isn’t too bad either. We were in San Francisco, California, for just a few days and caught up with Richard Kim for dinner one night. I had to take care of some stuff with my house, which I’m renting out, and only got to spend a few days there, unfortunately.

“Aside from that, we’ve been taking advantage of travel and doing stuff again now that life is getting back to normal: holiday in the Maldives (and now planning Mauritius in November!) and long weekends in different cities throughout Europe; some football matches (Tottenham and Chelsea — though the Brits tell us we can’t support both! — an FC Barcelona match, and women’s finals at Wimbledon); and six concerts over the past few months (Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, Queen at the O2, Chili Peppers two times — at London Stadium and at Fenway — Sting at the Palladium, and The Who at Royal Albert Hall). Oh, and we also moved recently to a larger townhouse in London, still in Marylebone, our same neighborhood. Plenty of room if you guys want to come visit … . Lots going on!”

I have been living in Copenhagen, Denmark, since the end of August last year. We made the move as a result of my wife Erin’s position with Pandora Jewelry, and I got to spend some extended time with my older two children (Katherine and Patrick). They both started school/daycare here in January, and then we were lucky enough to welcome child No. 3, Margaret Shea, who was born in April. Additionally, we had the pleasure of doing some traveling with Damon Woo, his wife Laryssa and their two daughters Alexis and Charlotte in late August/early September this year. We had an amazing time touring Amsterdam, Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; Oslo, Norway; and even some of Copenhagen, Denmark. Sam Tutterow paid a visit to Copenhagen in September to see his and Meredith Tutterow’s daughter Abby who is studying there this semester. It was great to catch up with Sam in person and see some sights. My family and I have been lucky enough to get to know Abby and see Sam on his visit. We’re also looking forward to seeing Meredith on her upcoming visit as well! Plans are also set for Hector Arcaya and family (Denise, Diego and Marco) to visit us on their return trip from Qatar for the World Cup. Not sure how long we will be there, but we are always open to have visitors! (The kids often ask who is coming next …).

I hope everyone is doing well. Please send updates at any time. We can include them no matter when you send them!

All the best, Rob and Bob

2000

Serena Matsunaga; Paige Killian serenamatsu2@gmail.com paigekillian@mac.com

The Class of ’00 came together last June to celebrate our 22nd year reunion!

After several efforts to schedule and re-schedule our 20th reunion during the pandemic, we were finally able to gather in Charlottesville for a small, but mighty, gathering. All four sections were proudly represented.

We began the reunion with a tour of the new hotel, now under construction, on the Darden Grounds. We were also able to catch up with a few familiar faces, including Jeanne Liedtka and Martin Davidson, at Darden.

The weekend included a Friday night on the Corner complete with a stop at the Buddhist Biker Bar. A very small group braved the White Spot. On Saturday was a wine tour of King Family Vineyards and Hazy Mountain Vineyards in Crozet, Virginia.

The group included Susan Camp, Gina Flango, Pamela (Smeder) Douglas, Jen (McEnery) Finn, Paige (Newton) Killian, Ilan Danieli, Mike Kelly, Kerry (Davenport) Fitzgerald, Laird Reed, Rebecca Rippey, Jessica Wadlow, Dave and Abby Pinto, Derek Pitts, David Guillaume and Serena Matsunaga Carlos Zuleta, Heitor Carrera, Jose Maria Zertuche, Andre Laloni and Sarah Crawford represented our international delegation. Closer to home were Charlottesville locals David Gray, Karen (Kalsi) Chapman, Pam DeGuzman and Dave Keppel

Thanks to Ilan who joined Jose and Serena on the reunion team and kept up the momentum to make this weekend happen.

Pablo Ciano travelled to Charlottesville for another special reason last May. His daughter Carolina, born during Pablo’s Second Year at Darden, graduated with a Bachelor in Science of Nursing from UVA. An anonymous source confirmed that Hunter Davis, son of Ward Davis, also walked the lawn this year. Congratulations to Carolina, Hunter and all the other “Darden babies” who graduated from college this year!

2001

Trina Rogers jones_trina@yahoo.com

In addition to life updates, I’m happy to share mini-reunion stories and some of our classmates’ favorites in this update. Thanks to all who contributed, and we look forward to hearing from even more folks next time!

In May, Thelma De la Pena-Lopez, Sandra Forero, Pilar Rivera Cruz, Mercedes Michel Torino, Soledad Boyle and Marta Noriega had a mini-reunion in Florida. They have all stayed in touch and gotten together in smaller groups, but it was the first time in 20 years that they were all together. It was so much fun! Last year, Sandra was named COO of ZS, the same firm she has been with since she graduated. She is really enjoying this new role and challenge.

In September, Wendy Bolger, Coleen (Sullivan) Curry, Trina (Jones) Rogers, Elizabeth (Wells) Shumadine, Staci (Wagenbach) Singlak and Christine (Butcher) Wilson met for a quick reunion in Norfolk, Virginia. Sarah and Chris Smythe also dropped in for a quick hello and were wonderful trip advisors.

Chris Berl wrote in with a business and family update: “My business continues to grow and I have recently re-branded from Restroom Direct to Berl’s Commercial Supply (www.berls.com), because it’s always good to eventually get out of the restroom.

“Charlotte, who many of our class knew as a newborn at Darden, has graduated from Davidson College and is now working for fintech startup, Brex. Wilder and Allaire are at Washington University in St. Louis and Kenyon College.

“Lou and I are now in Westport, Massachusetts, most of the time, since she as stopped working at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, where we were both coaching rowing. I had a nice visit with Michelle and Paul Coviello this summer as they were making their way through New England.”

Thes (Diamond) Spivey is still at Coca-Cola and still in Atlanta, Georgia. She sent her first-born off to college at University of Alabama and is looking forward to empty nest-hood in a few years.

In addition to updates, I asked our classmates to share the favorite things they are reading, listening to, watching and enjoying. Here’s what you shared:

From Jason Janning: “Latest eye-opening fiction book: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel; Latest eye-opening non-fiction book: Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio.”

From Sandra Forero: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. “A very good read.”

From Trina Rogers: Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler.

From Ann Nicholson: “I enjoyed Martin Davidson coming to Corning Inc. for a discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion. Ana Jo is enjoying her second year at UVA and I’m grinding through The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University (a book about Jefferson’s founding of UVA), so I think about Charlottesville a lot!”

From Chris Berl: “I am reading Shōgun by James Clavell because I remember my parents reading it many years ago and I needed something light to read. It’s a novel about a British sea captain who finds himself in Japan in 1600. It’s a fun book if you don’t mind a lot of death-by-really-sharp-sword.”

Thes (Diamond) Spivey: Medici on Netflix. “A particularly good series if you are planning to visit Florence, Italy.”

2002

Flip Pidot flippidot@gmail.com

Matt Kaness has taken on a new role as CEO of GoodwillFinds.com, a new marketplace for the Goodwill network of stores and donation centers across the country. Matt hopes you’ll check it out and let him know what you think.

Will Thomas, founder and CEO of Happy Joints Club, was recently a guest on Professor Ed Freeman’s The Stakeholder podcast. Highly recommended — give it a listen!

2003

Graham Beatty; Lauren MacLeod gbeatty@heidrick.com lmacleod@alumni.virginia.edu

Ladi and Sean Carr (MBA ’03, Ph.D. ’13) have switched coasts, moving from beautiful Charlottesville to Bellevue, Washington.

After many years leading Darden’s Batten Institute, Sean has taken on a new challenge as CEO of the Global Innovation Exchange, a graduate business and technology institute, launched as a collaboration between Microsoft and the University of Washington. Sean also received a faculty appointment at UW’s Foster School of Business. Meanwhile, Ladi proudly continues as director of Global Executive MBA Programs for Darden, so their connection to the Grounds remains alive and well. Sean and Ladi are also happy to report that their son, Sebastian, is thriving in his first year of high school.

Jeremy Jones has returned to his nonprofit roots as the marketing and communications manager for Hospice of the Piedmont. “After managing people for so many years, it’s been fun working for a small organization and getting my hands dirty with marketing again. I’m making social media posts, writing press releases and building web pages. Best of all, it’s an organization I believe in. I was literally a donor before I was an employee.”

Also in Jeremy Jones’ news: He was part of a crew that got together with Anand Stanley during a recent visit to Charlottesville. Aaron Laufer hosted a mini-reunion for fellow C’ville locals that included Jeremy, Jerry Peng and Jill Simandl David Freccia and Brian Hartman made the trek from Washington, D.C., to pay homage to Stan. A good time was had by all.

From Aron Grodinsky: “After a year owning and operating an auto collision repair business, I successfully sold the business in order to return to my prior career as an institutional investor and capital allocator. I was offered the exciting opportunity to become the chief investment officer for the Colorado Health Foundation (TCHF), a private foundation striving to provide equitable healthy lives for all Coloradans, with a focus on underserved communities. With a $3 billion portfolio, TCHF is the largest grantmaker in the state. There is a lot of work to do to reposition the portfolio and build the investment office, so I am excited and invigorated by the challenge and opportunity. Running my own business was a tremendous learning opportunity and provided me with many valuable experiences and lessons I intend to apply to this new endeavor.”

The Class of ’03 is excited to celebrate their 20th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April 2023. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Check out the list of reunion hotel blocks and book early as hotels tend to fill up fast! Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Anand Stanley and Graham Beatty, 20th Reunion Giving Co-Chairs, have been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside them on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, you can email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2004

alumni@darden.virginia.edu

Jill Lewandosky writes that she grabbed a quick lunch with Sarah Gulla in San Francisco at Bluestem. They caught up with Justin Jed’s brother there, too.

2005

ToTran Nguyen totran05@gmail.com

Congrats on the new challenge! Neal Hoffman recently acquired a new company in the toy and games space called Metallic Dice Games. He now regrets not taking an M&A class and is thankful that Garth Monroe, Ashton Cullum and Alex Taylor were all there to mentor and guide him on this journey.

Keep an eye out … Mark Higgins’ book, Becoming an Enlightened Investor, will be landing on bookshelves in the fall of 2023. Not a small task, the book offers a complete financial history of the United States. His project began immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark shares, “After immersing myself in financial history to understand some of the precedents that explain the COVID-19 financial crisis, I discovered that there was no single book that recounted the full financial history of the United States from its establishment by Alexander Hamilton in 1790 to the present day. The goal of the book is to fill this gap for the benefit of investment professionals, financial advisors, trustees and individual investors.”

Another D ’05 doctor in the house … ToTran Nguyen obtained her Ph.D. in business economics (work and organization studies) from KU Leuven in Belgium. Titled “Here and now: Reconsidering context in cross-sector collaboration,” her dissertation offers a new way to understand why collaborations and partnerships may still turn out disappointing despite good intentions, efforts and investment. She looks forward to returning to practice and will continue to reside in Central Europe.

Passing through…. When they heard ToTran describe her town of Leuven as the “European C’ville,” Joanna and Guim Barbour and their sons Andechs and Marco decided they couldn’t miss it during their tour of Central Europe. They join the list of other classmates who have passed through the country and had a beer or two with ToTran over the past years — Cathy Ackerson, Paul Harper and Cindy Shen! Anyone else coming?

Gabriel Lazarus and his family are still residing in Bethesda, Maryland, with growing teenagers, and yes, he is amazingly still employed with Medtronic since leaving Darden. The family enjoyed the return of global travel with an amazing 2.5-week trip to Greece over the summer, along with another 1.5 months in Valencia, Spain, visiting wife Raquel Leon’s family.

2006

Email

2007

HeatherRaeDanforth@gmail.com

RyanDavis07@gmail.com

AliceAnna@gmail.com.

Christa Avampato shares her “cheers to dreams deferred that finally come true!” She reports: “I started a new master’s program in Sustainability Leadership at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge. It’s a hybrid program so I’m splitting my time between the U.K. and New York City. I just got back to New York City after my first intensive in the U.K. and it had that same magical spark as our first days at Darden. This is a real dream come true for me. I originally started my applications to Cambridge and Oxford for their graduate programs in September 2020. I didn’t submit then because I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in October 2020. I’d dream about getting to start my next education chapter while in the chemo ward. Along with messages from my amazing friends (especially so many ’07 alumni!), this dream kept up my spirits during my darkest hours. Now cancer-free, I started this new adventure with so much gratitude and I plan to use all I have to protect the planet.”

Recently promoted to SVP and Division CFO at ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, Miguel Valdovinos and his family moved to Stockholm, Sweden, in August after spending the last 15 years in Dallas, Texas.

After spending most of the time postDarden as an operations executive at Lockton Companies, a family-owned insurance brokerage, Marshall Lockton decided to make a change and test his memory of Frank Genovese’s (MBA ’74) class. He has formed Meraki Investments with the intent to acquire a small business that has a clear purpose and strong growth potential. He is focused on professional services, B2B employer solutions and consumer products.

September brought some wonderful meetups with Darden friends for Alexandria Drohobyczer in Atlanta, Georgia. Visitors included Chris Eastman, who was in the area for work on several occasions. She reports: “We took a great picture together of me, but the lighting was horrible and didn’t do Chris’ hair justice! If anyone wants to see it, they can ping me.” Soon after, Alexandria and her family celebrated her son’s Bar Mitzvah. Guests included Kelly Greenauer, Julie Vianello and their families. “We had a wonderful time and I wish I had gotten a picture of the three of us! Looking forward to seeing others in Atlanta!”

Gwendolyn Boyce reports: “After an enjoyable five-year stint at Facebook that consisted mainly of visiting the wonderful cafeteria and finding dubious reasons to visit assorted global offices, I moved to Amazon Advertising just as COVID-19 hit. Our family temporarily moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in order to be near family and escape living with two small gremlins in an inelegant 900-square-foot New York City apartment. After some fits and starts, we’ve now settled in the leafy ’burb of Rye, New York, where, sadly, attempts at New York City hipster attire seem to be out in favor of prolific tennis whites. In January, I took on an exciting new role at Twitch, a live video gaming and streaming platform owned by Amazon. I’ve found the video gaming world to be oddly beautiful, fast-paced, and fascinating ... and I look forward to cluttering it up with advertising as quickly as possible.”

Mike Lorence writes from the ChampsÉlysées where he and his wife, Trisha, wrapped up a week and a half in Paris, France, and Alba, Italy, which is Barbaresco wine country in the northeast near the Swiss Alps. On the professional side, he and his partner are actively looking to acquire aerospace/defense companies anywhere in the United States. He requests that if you know or hear of any rumors of anyone who might be interested in selling part or all of a company in this space, please reach out to him at mike@drmikelorence.com.

2008

Pratyush Kumar pratyush@gmail.com

The Class of 2008 is excited to celebrate their 15th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Beth and John McCann, 15th Reunion giving co-chairs, have been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside them on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, you can email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2008 Emba

Davina Myers davinajmyers@gmail.com

Evan Inra reports: “I’m thrilled to share that I moved into a new role at Amazon in May 2022 as an HR principal program manager for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Kuiper is Amazon’s initiative to build a constellation of satellites to provide global high-speed, low-cost internet bandwidth to underserved communities. After graduating many, many moons ago from Penn State with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, this is my first opportunity to actually work in the field that once upon a time inspired me to reach for the stars. I’m also excited to have a Second Year undergrad at UVA: our daughter Marissa; and a senior in high school: our son Nick. Finally, I remain actively engaged with Darden through the Alumni Board as a class agent, and most recently as a career coach through Darden’s Alumni Career Services. If I can help you connect or re-engage with Darden or our alumni network in any way, please reach out — I’d love to hear from you!”

Thomas Benjamin retired from full-time duty at Quantinuum on 3 June, after the merger of his company, Cambridge Quantum Computing, and Honeywell Quantum Solutions was completed. He remains an adviser to the CEO and executive team, mostly remotely. Attacking his bucket list, he bought a campervan and on 7 September set off on a five-week tour of some western national parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Arches, Canyonlands and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Great weather and awesome sights.

And … save the date for our 15th reunion to be held in Charlottesville on the weekend of 28–30 April 2023! Hope to see many of you there!

2009

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2009 Emba

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2010

Meredith Valentine; Kyle Power; Jacqueline Grace valentine.meredith@gmail.com kylepower11@gmail.com jacqueline.grace@gmail.com

After 12 years with Caesars Entertainment, Jackie Grace started a new role as CEO of Beam Living, a Blackstone portfolio company in the New York City multifamily housing space. Jackie is thrilled to be back in NYC and is excited about creating great places to work, live, and grow. Ryan, age 9, and Reagan, age 6, are enjoying city living and all the adventures of the same!

Ray Lamas writes: “I’ve taken on the role of president at Thrust Flight, an airline pilot training company based here in Dallas, Texas. Named the second best flight training school in the country by Flying Magazine and with significant financial backing, we’re poised to break out significantly in the commercial flight training industry with a new approach to training pilots for the growing needs of the global aviation market. Great to be leading a great group of professionals in the aviation industry again! Meanwhile, the family continues to live and thrive here in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Texas. Alex, David, and I are tackling double-black diamonds as we explore the ski mountains of North America, while the entire family is ‘scuba-qualed,’ and we have already gone diving twice as a family this year! Boys are big into rock climbing, swimming, chess and volunteering, while I’ve taken up tennis again, and occasionally join in on Dana’s new passion, pickleball!”

Meredith Valentine married Nick Dupont on 6 August in Santa Cruz, California. Fellow Darden alumni Laura Balach, Serdjan Balach, Summer Haltli, Colin Phinisey, Kim Durik (MBA ’11), Sarah Boice (MBA ’11) and Spencer Boice (MBA ’11) joined the celebration. The newlyweds live in Oakland, California, with their three children.

Kiran Kadambi welcomed baby Adithri Kiran Kadambi, born on 30 August 2021 and weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Mom, Dad, big sister Brithi and baby are doing great! And by great, we mean sleep deprived. Dad is ramping up his caffeine addiction back to levels unseen since his days at Darden.

Amanda Branting and her husband, Scott (UVA Law ’06), had a baby boy, Hayes. He joins big brother, Benjamin. Hayes was born in Newport Beach, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just like his brother. Everyone is doing great.

2010 Emba

Anthony Anticole; David Bonenfant anthonyanticole@gmail.com david.bonenfant@gmail.com

Congratulations to Rick Hinshaw for his new role as director of strategic relations at Singular University, a global learning and innovation community. In this role, he brings his singular business expertise to partner with large global organizations to help create future-focused leaders.

Hats off to April Jones for being promoted to managing director at Deloitte. She heads the Global Clients and Industries team, a team that spans five continents (from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sydney, Australia). This brings her one step closer to her goal of being able to say the sun never sets on her empire.

Felicitations to Paul Matherne and his wife, Linda, who welcomed their fifth grandchild this year with the addition of Liza Tucker Matherne. Paul will be retiring from the UVA School of Medicine in December of 2022, but will continue to teach his three classes at Darden in health care and nonprofits.

Kudos to Tucker Norton for taking on a larger role leading DuPont’s advanced printing business, assuming leadership of Artistri Digital Inks in addition to his existing role leading Cyrel® Solutions. Tucker is a brilliant and vibrant part of the Darden EMBA ’10 cohort; it only makes sense he takes on a larger role helping to create brilliant and vibrant experiences for companies and their customers.

Three cheers to Paul Shaw for his new role as VP of Client Delivery at LIFELENZ, an automated AI platform for planning and scheduling workforce and human capital management needs. The Accenture flag was flying at half-mast when Paul, a 19year Accenture veteran, turned in his notice. And finally, a hearty “Huzzah!” to Meghan Welch for her new role as chief people officer at Plaid. Plaid — a leader in fintech supporting over 12,000 financial institutions and providing a platform for over 6,000 digital financial services — is ecstatic about hiring the 20 plus year veteran and former HR titan of Capital One. Meghan credits her ten years in the role of Darden EMBA ’10 class secretary as crucial to helping her prepare for the top people spot.

2011

Stephanie Conell; Sarah Boice stephanie.h.conell@gmail.com sarahsboice@gmail.com

Elizabeth and Andrew Crowley welcomed their second child, John Steele Crowley, on 17 June 2022.

Matt Coleman recently joined the Demex Group as chief risk officer. Demex is an insurtech company that enables climate resilience by deploying innovative technology and insurance products to value and transfer climate risk. For nearly 20 years Matt has been working at the nexus of climate science, capital markets and insurance. Prior to joining Demex, he scaled an insurance-linked securities investment fund from 2 to 15 people and from $200 million to $750 million of assets under management. Matt currently lives in Oakland, California, with his wife Dr. Christine Coleman (CEO of POC Thriving LLC), daughter Alessia and son Kais.

Kirstie Chen sent this update: “Our family went to Alaska this summer and took a helicopter to the top of glaciers. It was a spectacular view and definitely worth it.”

2011 Emba

Chris Mehalic chrismehalic@gmail.com

The 2011 EMBA class recently braved the threatening remnants of Hurricane Ian and gathered for what has become an annual unofficial reunion tradition. This year’s location was Alexandria, Virginia, and we tip our hats to Tom Tichenor for continuing to organize and host this endeavor. We had 12 in attendance and Tom wishes to thank those who actually managed to follow through on their Venmo promises.

Please enjoy a few updates from our class members:

On 22 September, David Schmidle married his best friend and the love of his life, Christina Dimeo, in an intimate ceremony with family and friends among the vine rows of Crozet, Virginia.

We celebrate with Samir Doshi (and Uppasna) on the birth of their second daughter, Saira. Never one to enjoy major life events in single-doses, Samir doubled down with a professional shift to KPMG. Regarding the strategic initiatives upon which he’s embarked and the evolution in responsibility and purview associated with the new role, Samir articulated verbosely that he’s “real busy.”

Kumar Thiagarajan was recently appointed senior engineering manager with Adobe, a shift which took him and his family on a reverse path against migration traffic trends as he moved to the Bay Area, California, where he reports housing stock to be plentiful and prices modest.

Narrowly escaping a potentially YouTube-worthy public melt-down, Alfred Geoffrion recently had to be calmed with the promise of an Orange Julius and Auntie Anne’s pretzel (which were acquired and consumed as agreed upon) after becoming very agitated at seeing the new Psycho Bunny store at his local mall. The novel boutique with its hip popularity and highly inflated price point triggered Fred’s ire as he shouted, “I’ve been wearing that brand for years, long before it was popular!” He expounded further, “My friends at Darden used to even pick on me about it! What? So NOW its cool?”

Shawn Bobick was tapped as global account director with ERM, the world’s largest pure-play ESG consulting firm. The move has him shifting away from operations and he’s enjoying reaching back to his cases and lessons from Darden in exploring the nuances of his new responsibilities.

As is tradition, Dennis Monahan challenges The Darden Report editorial staff to be willing to present his prepared update verbatim, should they have the courage to commit the print real estate. (Editorial staff note: challenge accepted!)

“I completed UVA’s accelerated master’s program in systems engineering (AMP SE) in May and was awarded a master’s in engineering (M.Eng.). It was a fantastic and challenging experience taught by a cadre of amazing instructors. Like Darden, the entire syllabus was case-based. I had so much fun being back on-Grounds, in the academic environment and learning new skills. As you would expect, it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my family, who are happy that I have finished the program. I am in the process of figuring out what is next for my career. I am exploring options in the fields of robotics, human-machine interactions, artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

2012

Travis Danysh; Sadie Bear travis.danysh@gmail.com sadiewbear@gmail.com

This was a year of major change for Andrew Blaser and his family. He took a new job with Microsoft in the commercial revenue planning finance team, switching industries from financial services to technology. In addition, along with the new job, the family relocated from Hawaii (where they have been living for the past seven years) to the Redmond, Washington, area. As many in the class are familiar, that meant selling and buying houses, packing and moving, transitioning the kids to a new place and school, and more!

2012 Emba

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2013

Deanna de Arango; Janet Schroeder deannadearango@gmail.com janetaschroeder@gmail.com

Jim Thomas and his wife, Samantha, welcomed their first baby in May. Gracie Gwendolyn Thomas weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and has recently reached a fun milestone by starting to giggle! Jim currently manages Firefox software development at Mozilla, while Sam teaches kindergarten and owns a floral design business. They live in Menlo Park, California.

Arthur Berens and his wife, Jess, visited Pete Vilkins in Manhattan Beach, California, in September with their daughter Isla and son Arthur. They had a blast exploring the beach, restaurants, Pro Beach Volleyball tournaments and all that Manhattan Beach has to offer. Professionally, Pete has moved into his second year with Northwestern

Mutual as a risk management and financial advisor.

After a two-year delay, Laura (Durity) Galvin and her husband Gregory Galvin hosted their wedding celebration at the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, in April 2022. With the birth of their son, Timothy George Galvin, in September 2021, there was much to celebrate. In attendance were Darden ’13 friends: Kathleen (Sheehan) Kamenetsky, Kakul Chaudhry, Amanda Buckland, Gregory Molnar and Hana Nah, as well as Sanjiv Tata (Law ’13). Janet (Schroeder) Pittman and her husband, Ben, welcomed their son, Avery James, in July. They currently live in Washington, D.C., and are looking forward to making their next trip down to Charlottesville for reunion in April. They look forward to seeing all of you for the 10th!

2013 Emba

Elisabeth Brennan Wright; Joshua Newell elisabethbwright@gmail.com josh.newell@gmail.com

The Class of 2013 EMBA is excited to celebrate their 10th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. Sheri Lucas, 10th Reunion giving chair, has been hard at work recruiting classmates to serve alongside her on the reunion committee. If you would like to join, email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2013 Gemba

Jeffery Birkey, jeffbirkey@gmail.com

The Class of 2013 GEMBA is excited to celebrate their 10th Darden Reunion in Charlottesville on 28–30 April. We hope you are making plans to come back to Darden for the celebrations. Reunion registration will launch in February, so be sure to look out for updates. If you would like to join the Reunion Committee, email ReunionGiving@darden.virginia.edu. We look forward to seeing you all this spring at Darden!

2014

Himanshu Singh; Margot Sakoian; Jennifer Scheurich himanshu.tevotia@gmail.com margotsakoian@gmail.com jennifer.scheurich@capitalone.com

Sally Stuart was married to Frank Shea on 9 April 2022 in Fairfield, Connecticut. They share a fond love of skiing, traveling, red wine and cooking, where Frank is Sally’s sous chef and is particularly skilled at chopping onions. The wedding was a joyous occasion and one of the first times many Darden classmates saw each other after the COVID-19 hibernation. Sally is extremely grateful to all of her classmates who were able to travel to her hometown. And, while it didn’t have quite the surprise factor as a Trinity dancefloor, everyone brought out their best dancing moves.

On the professional side, since August 2020, Sally has been at Coty as the senior director of Global Direct to Consumer Strategy & Operations, working on brands such as Kylie Cosmetics, SKKN By Kim, Philosophy and Orveda. She enjoys the personal relevance from working in beauty and has learned more about both popular culture and the science behind skincare than she could ever have imagined.

Margot Sakoian was married to Miguel Crivelli in June 2022 in a small ceremony in New York City. After Miguel made several delicious dishes for the Darden quarantine “pod” and a few weeks of working remotely in Charlottesville in 2020, he became an honorary member of the crew.

2014 Emba

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2014

Gemba

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2015

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2015

Emba

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2015

Gemba

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2016

Kelly Gerhardt; Adrienne Brewbaker; Saranya Sundararajan kelly.gerhardt@gmail.com afbrewbaker@gmail.com catchsaranya@gmail.com

Kendal Carlson and spouse, Eric, welcomed their daughter, Marit June, in August and are spending parental leave enjoying visitors and Airbnb-ing around New England. Siblings Theo, age 5, and Vivien, age 2, are thrilled (and really, really loud).

Kelly Gerhardt and spouse, Adam, welcomed their daughter, Alison Jane, in July. Her siblings Emily, age 4; Josh, age 3; and Tim, age 1, are so excited to have a baby girl to kiss and hug!

2016 Emba

Elizabeth Goldstein; Jessica Pearson lizgoldstein15@gmail.com jessica.obradovic.pearson@gmail.com

Corey Feist, president and co-founder of Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, was proud to announce that one of its board members was featured in The First Wave, a documentary that recently won three Emmy awards.

Kate Myers is starting a new role as interim CEO at the Markup. This will be her second interim CEO role in her time as an independent operator since early 2021. Kate was previously acting-CEO/chief operating officer at the Center for Public Integrity from March 2021 to March 2022. Way to go Kate!

In August, Ed Kostrzebski started a new position as vice president of Growth and Capture with MetroStar, a digital services and management consulting company specializing in emerging technologies in Reston, Virginia.

This past summer Brian Shepard announced his retirement from UNOS, following the completion of his contract. His 10-year tenure as UNOS CEO was marked by groundbreaking progress in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system. Congratulations, Brian!

Heather Moor and her husband, Joe, welcomed their second daughter in April. Emery Carol was born, and they couldn’t be happier that this sweet little bundle has completed their family. They are now settling into life with two amazing little girls, enjoying sweet baby cuddles, watching Lily blossom into a big sister, and catching some sleep when they can. Life is good.

Jessica Pearson and John Lawrence ran into each other at an NC Courage game in September. John and his wife Jill relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, from Washington, D.C., at the beginning of 2022.

2016 Gemba

Email your Class Notes updates to alumni@darden.virginia.edu.

2017

Amy Brubaker Menendez; Gabriel Legendy amy.b.menendez@gmail.com glegendy@gmail.com

Elizabeth and Ed Sykes recently welcomed their second son, John, on 1 September! Teddy, age 2.5, is excited to be a big brother.

Peter Bergen and Ester (Barbuto) Bergen welcomed their second baby to the world on 30 April, the same weekend as our Darden 5th year reunion. First son Noah is a loving brother to Louis. Noah is 2 years old now and Peter and Ester are learning how to negotiate with a toddler.

Gabe Legendy and Helen Marks welcomed their second child into the world on 25 May. Winston was born with a strong sense of what he does and does not want, and the lung power to see his will done! Despite the noise level, his brother Westley, age 2, loves his “Winnie” and starts each day with big brother snuggles.

2017 Emba

Nathan Uldricks; Jana Burnett nathan.uldricks@gmail.com jana.burnett4@gmail.com

Margot Bunn welcomed Jack Conway, who was born on 6 July. Casey Steffan is his godmother, and she and Margot were reunited for Casey’s baptism in September.

Michael Fox was promoted to professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona.

Lewis Nelson was promoted to director of commercial strategy and enablement at Fluke, a Fortive Corporation operating company. He moved back to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2021 with his partner Jocelyn and three high-schoolers.

Abigail Suarez and her husband, Marvin Salmeron, welcomed Mateo Salmeron Suarez on 13 May, weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces, surprising Mom and Dad by arriving two weeks early.

Nathan Uldricks is running for Pine Township Board in his native Porter County, Indiana. He is currently training to become a volunteer firefighter and joined the Porter County Park Foundation Board of Directors. He was recently accepted into the Indiana Leadership Forum.

2017 Gemba

Amanda Fox, amanda.j.fox.1@gmail.com

Jason Newby relocated with his family to northern Virginia and started a new role with Capital One as a product manager in their headquarters in McLean, Virginia.

Brian Ribera and his family are doing really well; the oldest, Rylan, started his first year of college and is doing great. The whole family misses him (especially the other kiddos) but are very proud of him. Ronin, age 12, is the quarterback of his middle school football team. Ellie, age 11, plays softball and guitar. And finally, Rourke, age 8, is a baseball star!

Brian continues to run the 501(c)(3) Military Mobility which provides resiliency training to veterans in need. In addition to providing corporate adventure retreats the organization has expanded and gained much popularity with private schools for middle school and high school children. This program has filled a much-needed gap in the education field, where true leadership training and personal development is lacking in many schools.

Brian also is contracted by the military and government as a program manager for training and exercises.

Teresa Fuller enjoyed a fun summer traveling to company headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, and vacationing in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and Outer Banks, North Carolina, with the family. A particular highlight of the summer was celebrating her daughter’s 4th