Alumni Class Notes September 2023-January 2024

1960s

• Anne Sullivan ’68 references her mother, Anne McCrary ’56 of Wilmington College, who taught marine biology at UNCW for 20 years, in her newest collection of poems, Notes from a Marine Biologist’s Daughter.

1980s

• Ronnie Peoples ’80 was inducted into the Wake Forest High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
• Deb Newton ’83 celebrated the marriage of her youngest child, Christian.

1990s

• Seth Sjostrom ’93 published A Caper on Carolina Beach, the second novel in his Beach House Mysteries series.
• Damian Tucker ’95 was appointed Senior Province Vice Polemarch of the Middle Eastern Province of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
• Marshall Cooper ’96 was named United Bank’s regional president of its southern region, encompassing parts of North and South Carolina.
• Christina Skinner ’96 was voted Teacher of the Year at Jones Elementary in Wilson County.
• John Howland ’97 became a certified project management professional in March 2023 and is working on COMET at the Kennedy Space Center as a project manager and preparing for the Artemis II launch toward the end of 2024.
• Norman McDuffie ’98 graduated from East Carolina University with an Ed.D. Doctoral Dissertation Area: Educational Leadership.
• April Tisher ’99 was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the Early Learning Coalition Board of Alachua County.

2000s

• Shane Fernando ’00, ’08M was appointed as CEO of Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Wilmington and to the board of directors for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals.
• Michael Ratigan ’00, ’01M, employed by Fjord, Inc., had his company’s product STREP (Static Rope Edge Protection) win the NC Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Coolest Thing Made in NC’ competition in the small business category.
• Erin Magee ’01 was promoted to managing consultant with IBM.
• Mike Jenkins ’02, a senior vice president for Morgan Stanley in San Francisco, was named a Forbes Top Private Wealth Advisor in California (#48) and his team, The 650 Team, was also named to America’s Top Wealth Advisory Teams by Barron’s (#4) and Forbes (#50).
• Holly Marfani ’02 recently had twins, a boy and a girl.
• Daren Dean ’03M had his latest novel, Shelter Me, accepted for publication by the University of West Alabama’s Livingston Press. The novel’s story is based on the devastating 2016 Louisiana flood and is due to be published in fall 2025.
• Melissa Glenn ’03 was named the Director of Communications for Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative.
• Rachael Lipsetts ’03 was promoted to Director of Planned Giving at NPR Inc.
• Faydra Stratton ’03M published Denali Summer with Orange Blossom Publishing.
• Rae Greer ’04, ’22M received her CPA license.
• Rene Hayford ’04 married Sonia Herrera in October 2023.
• Dr. Michelle Johnston ’04 was selected as the superintendent for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
• Jason Frye ’05M will write his seventh title for Moon Travel Guides, 100 US National Parks Hikes. He has also joined the team at North Carolina Weekend as a coastal and food contributor.
• Amanda Thayer ’05 earned tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor at the Florida Institute of Technology.
• Justin Zoppe ’05 was awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council in 2023. The researcher receives funding of $2 million euros to conduct the study over five years.
• Megan Ennes ’06, ’11M was named director of the Thompson Earth Systems Institute at the University of Florida.
• Carolyn and Dean Heath ’06, ’14M, ’23M welcomed their second child, Henley, in July.
• Nick Damore ’08, ’15M had his independent feature documentary For Nick, From Dad selected for the 29th annual Cucalorus Film Festival.
• Ameet Doshi ’08M finished his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and is head of the Donald E. Stokes Library at Princeton University.
• Will Glasco ’08 was promoted to chief operating officer of Preservation Virginia, a statewide historic preservation leader.
• Elizabeth Walton ’08 married Tyler Walton on June 2, 2023.

2010s

• Justin Burgess ’10 received his certified financial planner certification.
• MJ Giammaria ’10, ’14C, ’15M launched a podcast, MusicDanceChat, in November.
• Toni Gazda ’11M was promoted to associate professor of Language, Literature & Culture at Averett University.
• Caitlin Gilroy ’11 joined the Smithsonian Institution as a collections specialist at the National Museum of American History.
• Christopher Alexander ’12 was hired as a printmaking studio technician and adjunct professor at UNC Greensboro.
• Edward Chase ’12, ’23M celebrated the birth of his first child, Oliver.
• Jacob Roed ’12 married Allie Shriver ’12 in Wilmington.
• Hannah ’13, ’16M and Matthew Morgan ’21 welcomed their first child, Miles, in May 2023.
• Loralee Panagakis ’13, a reading interventionist, was the 2023 Staff Member of the Year for Arizona State Preparatory Academy in downtown Phoenix.
• Brianna Walter ’13 received a promotion to Study Manager within the Grants Department at Parexel, working on breakthrough clinical research oncology studies to find lifesaving treatments for patients.
• Emily Warden ’13, ’18 earned a Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner and started working for Wilmington Health.
• Matthew Creech ’14, ’15M welcomed a future Seahawk Class of 2035, Penelope.
• Monica Flores de Valgaz ’14 welcomed the newest future Seahawk, Camila Flores de Valgaz, on June 7.
• Alice Fredericksen ’14 welcomed her daughter in January 2023.
• Mar'Queita Hayes ’14 was promoted to police corporal within the Wilmington Police Department.
• Kelsey Mancini ’14 married Harrison Lee Wrenn ’13 in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. The two met at UNCW in 2010.
• Cathy Purvis ’14, ’20M welcomed twin boys, Silas and Ezra, with her husband, Michael, who she met at UNCW.
• Rachel Spurrier ’14, ’16M completed the 1.5-mile Alcatraz Swim.
• Dr. Emillie Weiss ’14 became vice president of the Delaware Veterinary Medical Association.
• Vanessa Garcia ’15 participated in a December panel for Teach.org focusing on the experience of Latino teachers.
• Karen Ladley ’15M earned her doctorate in education in 2022 from Kutztown University and now works for the Carter Center in Atlanta.
• Riley Stephenson ’15 joined New York-based Rockefeller Capital Management’s wealth management division, Rockefeller Global Family Office.
• Adam Ballhaussen ’16 started a new role in December 2023 as the director of Digital Learning and Global Customer Education at Varicent.
• Wendy Gurganus ’16, ’21M adopted her first child with her husband in October.
• Carter Forbes ’16 was included on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Retail & ECommerce category.
• Lauren Pyle ’16M was promoted to Director of Children’s Media & Education Engagement at PBS NC.
• Kayla ’16 and Harrison Revels ’16 welcomed their first child, Harrison Jr., in July.
• Mindy Rodriguez ’16, ’20M was married in December.
• Kaela Bedics ’17, ’18, ’22M was recently hired by Snapchat and relocated to Los Angeles for the opportunity.
• Melanie Collins ’17 married Christopher Collins ’16, ’20M in downtown Wilmington in September.
• Allayna Dail ’17 was honored with the 2023 WILMA Magazine Rising Star award.
• Peyton Derrow ’17 joined the United States Coast Guard as a judge advocate, where he provides legal advice to operational units in North Carolina and other states.
• Emily Hartman ’17 welcomed a baby boy, Luka, in August.
• Haley Haynes ’17, a judge advocate in the United States Army, was married in 2023.
• Lauren Moore ’17 was married in June, graduated medical school and started as resident physician with Family Medicine at ECU Health in Greenville.
• Sherry Moss ’18 is a registered nurse who was nominated for the Daisy Award in 2023 and received one in 2015.
• Ariel Glover ’19, ’23DNP started her career as a family nurse practitioner for Atrium Health.
• Brenna Ramsey ’19 started working with the Carolina Panthers as a special event operations coordinator.

2020s

• Maya Crudup ’20 completed her Master of Public Health from UNC–Chapel Hill.
• Leah Hasson ’20 was engaged to Daxton Bostian ’21 in October. The two are from Morganton, N.C., and reconnected at UNCW.
• Amanda Johnson ’20M welcomed her first child, Brady, with her husband in July.
• Haley Peanoski ’20 is now a CPA and works as an auditor at Deloitte.
• Julia Singer ’20 published a report on how boat speeds are threatening large whales and presented the findings at the 2023 North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium in Halifax, Canada.
• Steph Stripling ’20Ed.D. started a business with her sister called Workplace Training Solutions, which offers workshops and tailored programs to help small businesses create or improve company culture via effective employee training.
• Callie Dalton ’21 started a new position at SGS Laboratories as a fish sample prep specialist and got engaged to another Seahawk.
• Ashley Eamma ’21 moved to St. Thomas for her dream job as an animal welfare specialist at Coral World Ocean Park. She works with dolphins, sea lions and birds.
• Clay Sipes ’21M welcomed the birth of his daughter, Emery.
• Ashley Vargo ’21 passed her Professional in Human Resources exam.
• Alassane Ndir ’22 received a promotion from Apptio, a software company that was later acquired by IBM, and is now working with a great team as a marketing automation specialist.
• Marie Beimler ’22 started a new position at Merck as an associate specialist in the quality control labs within the HPV lab expansion.
• Carmen Keene ’22 received a position as a field ecology technician at an ecological observatory in Montana and works within Yellowstone National Park.
• Rebecca Patterson ’22M started a new job as a 7-12th grade math and science teacher at a private school in Toronto.
• Leanna Reddick ’22 graduated with a master's in biotechnology from the Morehouse School of Medicine in December 2023.
• Natalie Tapia ’22 accepted a job as a care coordinator at Griswold Home Care in Wilmington.
• Starla Tanner ’22M was appointed to the North Carolina Human Resources Commission.
• Somer Caulder ’23 began nursing care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Hospital.
• Karly Brookover ’23 accepted a job at CaroMont Regional Medical Center on the post-ICU unit.
• Amanda Heitchue ’23 welcomed her first child.
• Tiffany Hoefler ’23M moved to Buffalo, N.Y., and accepted a position at Dent Neurologic Institute as a clinical research coordinator working on studies relating to Alzheimer’s disease.
• Robert Hollyfield II ’23M was promoted to training officer at Brunswick County EMS.
• Clay Pettit ’23M started his career in data analytics and earned a promotion two months later thanks to skills he learned during his master’s program.
• Maggie Whitman ’23 moved to Charlotte and was recently promoted to inside sales with Earle M. Jorgensen Steel.