CLASS OF ’84
warner School of education and the University of rochester Medical Center’s department of pediatrics.
Jeff Tinkham, B, earned his law degree from U.Va. and opened the tinkham Law Group in norfolk, Va., where he handles mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate transactions, and estate planning matters. He and his wife, Denise, have a son who is a sophomore at Baylor University and a son who is a junior in high school.
CLASS OF ’93
Reunion Reminder May 31–June 2, 2013 For more information, email reunion @richmond.edu or call 804-289-8030 or 800-480-4774, option 8.
CLASS OF ’85
Otis J. White is the faculty chair of business, management, and public administration at rio Salado College in tempe, Ariz. rio Salado is the largest online public college in the U.S. His research interests include entrepreneurship education and the effects of public policy on business start-ups.
CLASS OF ’86
Peter Frane, R, is treasurer of Marian Middle School, a Catholic school for disadvantaged girls in St. Louis. He is president of Olympic Marine. Timothy Coyne, L’86, is one of three Spiders among 17 profiled in a compilation of winchester, Va., leaders. Bernard Lewis’s Local Heroes: Winchester 2000–2012 also features Sharen Gromling, W’75 and G’76, and Michael Foreman, R’63.
CLASS OF ’87
in July, Eric Hurlocker, R and L’92, opened the firm GreeneHurlocker in richmond. the firm provides a broad range of energy, regulatory, and commercial services for companies throughout Virginia and the midAtlantic.
CLASS OF ’88
Reunion Reminder May 31–June 2, 2013 For more information, email reunion @richmond.edu or call 804-289-8030 or 800-480-4774, option 8.
CLASS OF ’89
Disability transition expert Martha Mock, W, received the 2012 Marc Gold innovative Practices in transition Award from the Division on Career Development and transition. She is an assistant professor with joint appointments at the
CLASS OF ’94
Minding the gap Brett Wigdortz, ’95 Brett Wigdortz walked into one of the largest secondary schools in West London as a consultant for a pro bono project on how businesses could better support disadvantaged schools. He walked out knowing there was much more he could do. Wigdortz had no experience with education or public policy. He had only recently moved to Britain and had no professional network. But he had a vision for improving school performance: recruit students with leadership potential, have them complete a residential training program, and ask them to make a two-year commitment to teaching. In 2002, Wigdortz resigned from his consulting job to found Teach First. “In some ways it was a deliberate sleight of hand,” he writes in his recent book, Success Against the Odds. “No pressure, just a twoyear commitment. In reality, I was convinced that the graduates would make it a lifetime one.” Today, more than half of Teach First’s graduates continue to teach in low-income community schools, while others continue a commitment to education equality through business, public policy, and social organizations. The early years weren’t easy. Wigdortz faced an uphill battle to secure funding, convince school ministers of the program’s value, and ensure each graduate was adequately trained. A decade later, no one is questioning the success of Teach First. The organization has placed more than 4,000 teachers in disadvantaged schools. It is the largest graduate recruiter in the country, and it works with more than 500 schools, tens of thousands of young students, and dozens of universities and businesses. “It’s been a great decade of learning and improving,” Wigdortz says. “The problem of educational disadvantage is so deep and historic, and encompasses so many difficult issues, that it’s hard to make sufficient progress. Every time I see children not receiving the education they need to make the most of their life chances, it makes me realize how far all of us still have to go.” —Kim Catley
David Kreiling is the new director of benefits administration for Coventry Healthcare. He and his wife, Melanie Farman Kreiling, have four children and live in wexford, Pa.
CLASS OF ’96
Justin McAlister is assistant professor of biology at Holy Cross. His research interests include marine larval and invertebrate biology, evolutionary ecology, and ecotoxicology. Kyle Herbert, ’96, is author of a new textbook, Hospital Reimbursement: Concepts and Principles, an analysis of financial models and reimbursement methods in the complex field of hospital accounting. He lives in Lexington, S.C. Blair Flynn Petrillo and her husband, nathan, have two children: a 3-year-old daughter, Lia, and a son, Gabriel edward, who was born Jan. 24, 2012. Mary Beth Laing Romani is chief strategy officer for integrity Management Consulting, which she founded with her husband, Chris. the company has been named to the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing companies for the third year in a row and ranked 10th overall in the government services category. in April, they were named Vanguard winner by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce for being the fastest-growing services company, and were the second fastest in the state of Virginia overall. John G. Unice and his wife, Michele, welcomed a daughter, Maren eve, May 21. She joined brothers Johnny, 4, and elias, 2, and sister ella, 4. the family lives in Pittsburgh, where John is senior counsel at Bayer Corp. Dana Yobst is vice president of sales at Fluid inc., a digital agency, and creator of on-demand e-commerce solutions for retailers. She had been the company’s director of business development.
riCHMOnD 51
Class Conn_Win13.indd 51
12/19/12 10:33 AM