class notes a great dinner at a trendy restaurant in Wilkinsburg. During the same visit, the ever-smiling and indomitable Margery “Margie” McKinley navigated the treacherous roads to enjoy a fireside glass of wine and tapas with us at the Mansions on Fifth— a fabulous bed and breakfast just around the corner from ’dear old WT’ (and coowned by alumna Jennifer Brady Pendleton ’95)! Margie is an accomplished photographer and has amassed an incredible collection of images. Attending Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards dinner last year, I was thrilled to recognize a WT graduate take the stage! June Ressler ’73, founder and CEO of Cenergy International Services, was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in recognition for her extraordinary success and visionary leadership in Logistics and Industrial Services.”
19 8 2 Erika Rapport Kolod writes, “I retired in 2004 and spend my time volunteering, exercising, traveling, visiting my kids, fly fishing, and hiking in the Rockies. My husband, Glenn, is an exercise fanatic. He snowboards and loves to compete in Spartan races. My oldest child, Brittny, got married in May 2014 and is a teacher in the Castle Rock school system in Colorado. She also coaches the cheer team and leads the DECA club. My middle child, Lauren, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2013 and recently finished pilot training. She will be stationed in Fairchild, Washington. My youngest, JB, is in his fourth year at the University of Virginia and is an All American diver medaling in the ACCs and the NCAAs. This past winter he finished sixth in the Winter Senior National Diving competition and earned a spot at the Olympic Trials.”
1985: 30th Reunion Year
Susan Whitacre ’74 Stacy Jannis Tamerlani produced and directed several videos about climate change and sea level rise for the National Academy of Sciences. Stacy also produced an animated video that is designed to teach young people the concept of resilience as part of an upcoming exhibit for the Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C.
Bobbie Woods Rhoads recently appeared on ABC’s Emmy award winning show Shark Tank with her product line, FUNBITES. FUNBITES ensures that picky eaters will try new things and eat healthier. With an easyto-use curved cutter and matching popper top, any kids’ food can easily be cut into fun shapes, making mealtime less stressful and more fun. Rhoads came up with the idea for her own children, and knew that other families would find FUNBITES valuable as well. Rhoads walked away with
Bobbie Woods Rhoads ’85 on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank a deal from Lori Greiner, “Queen of QVC,” but not before considering an offer from fashion and branding expert Daymond John, and turning away a potential counter-offer from Mark Cuban, fellow Pittsburgher and owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
Their work was presented at the HTMlles biennial festival in Montreal, and the Cinema Politica at the Concordia University of Montreal.
19 91 Esther Long Ratajeski and her husband, Kent Ratajeski, welcomed their third child, Timothy Reid, on July 23, 2014. The Ratajeskis live in Lexington, Kentucky, where Kent teaches geology at the University of Kentucky.
19 9 6 Alisha Wormsley travelled to Montreal this past winter as part of an artist residency with Studio XX. She spent two months preparing to present collaborative work with art partner, opera singer, sound and performance artist, Lisa Harris. Their interdisciplinary collaborations center on retelling human creationisms and folktales, playing with concepts of time. Wormsley and Harris tend to highlight femininity, social disorder, class, and African diaspora.
Work by Alisha Wormsley ’96 exhibited at the HTMlles festival 1999 Ben Sota whose return to Pittsburgh was touted in Pittsburgh Magazine as the “Best Homecoming” of 2014, teamed up with Jil Stifel ’96 to create WaywardLand, an abstract work which combines circus, dance, and physical theater. In February, WaywardLand was presented to a sold out crowd at the New Hazlett Theater as part of their Community Supported Art performance series. Sota is
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