2010s
2010s
10 Weddings and Welcomes
Jacob Nelson recently became engaged to Alexandra Ochsner. Kathleen Kelley married Luke Stavole ’11, ’13MEd on Aug. 4 in South Bend. They are expecting their first child in June. Adam Steinbach and Kelly Deranek ’10SMC,’11MS welcomed their daughter, Naomi Belle, this past May. Lee Marsh and Mary Neven welcomed their first child, Emilia Jane, on Dec. 9. Kevin Donohue and Jenna (Adsit) Donohue welcomed their first daughter, Lucia Thérèse, on Dec. 14. Big brothers Paul, 4, and James, 2, are enamored with their baby sister. Kenzie (Bowen) Johnston and Mike Johnston welcomed fraternal twin girls Adelaide Louise and Finley Forrest Johnston in October. Kenzie is working as a primary care sports medicine physician at Duke U. Michael Brundage received the 2018 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Old Guard Early Career Award for his service within the society as well as his contribution to advancing manufacturing technology through his work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Craig Ford Jr. successfully defended his dissertation, “Foundations of a Queer Natural Law,” and received his PhD from the Boston College Department of Theology. He is a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Fordham U and lives in New York City. Get engaged or married? Have a baby? Start a new job? Let your classmates know about it. Send me your updates. Go Irish. — Matt Molloy; ndclass2010@gmail.com
10MBA More Great News
Ted Kwartler teaches a graduate level class in data science for business at Harvard U and brought in Greg Cochara and Victor Arias as guest speakers. Victor provided perspective on the marketing world, and Greg spoke from the perspective of The Onion and media. I’m sure after this presentation there will be a lot of transfer applications coming into ND. Adam Anderson and his wife Erin welcomed their second daughter, Lyra Katherine, on Oct. 8. Big sister Scarlett enjoys having a sister and can’t wait until she is old enough to be an Anna to her Elsa. (Yes, Frozen is still alive and well with toddlers.) Adam is a group operations manager with Microsoft in Reno whose team is responsible for running “air traffic control” on Microsoft’s largest commercial deals. Evva Comans and Chris Romick ’15PhD welcomed their son Gabriel on Dec. 2. Evva and Chris moved to Amsterdam in the fall of 2017. They enjoy being closer to her family. Evva works as an account executive at Uber, and Chris is a contractor for the Los Alamos National Lab. This wraps up another quarter for Team MBA 2010. Now take a moment and send me some details of “what’s good” to include in the next update. Share your news anytime. Go Irish — John Gerberich; cell 847-331-4707; jgerberi@alumni.nd.edu
10JD Doing Big Things
Congrats to Stacey Forbes and Justin Heyman on their gorgeous winter wedding in Washington DC. It was full of love, laughter, and classmates including Maggie (Myers) and Perry Phipps, Katie (Lewis) Blouin, Ryan Dattilo, John Cronin, Laura Moran, Kimberly (Shubert) and Michael Davey, Julie (Wiorkowski) Mallen, Erin (Brown) Jones, Allyson Spacht, Michael Gerardi, Annalee (Janke) and Will Seath ’06, ’11MArch, ’11MADU, and yours truly Jennifer (Hernandez) Laffitte. A special congrats to one of our very own. A’10JD alum was on Jeopardy on Dec. 3. Who is Bernie (Nguyen) Florip? It was awesome to see her. Want to know two other classmates to be impressed with? Katie (Lewis) Blouin and Maggie (Myers) Phipps officially launched their company Larken in January making it easier for new moms by providing versatile maternity, nursing and hands-free pumping essentials. With all the babies in my previous columns, it seems like perfect timing. I’m always looking to brag about my classmates, so please send me your (or your friends’) updates for my next column. Until next time. — Jennifer (Hernandez) Laffitte; 10310 Southwest 128th Ave., Miami FL 33186; res 305-322-7154; bus 786-762-3815; jherna11@alumni.nd.edu
11 Updates
Carolyn Conley will marry Greg Lehman on March 30th at St. Vincent de Paul Church in San Francisco CA. Charlie Landis and Tessa Plaschke are getting married on July 20th in Bloomington, Indiana. The couple didn't know each other at Notre Dame but met while getting their MBAs at Indiana University. The wedding party will include Jenny Dahm, Christian Gigante, Chris Bennett, and Sean Kickham. Silvana Martinez is engaged to Matt Woodrome. Get your salt and lime ready, because this epic couple is migrating south for their nuptials. The wedding is scheduled for this summer in Mexico. Libby Koerbel has also been busy this past year, both getting engaged and moving across the country. She and fiancé Ben Weissman traded deep dish for the classic slice and moved from Chicago to New York. But don’t worry, they can’t resist the Midwest’s charm for too long. They’re headed back this fall to get hitched in St. Louis. On June 30, Ryan Schwab ’11, ’13 was blessed to marry the most lovely Aileen Kernan ’16 where they met teaching at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church in South Bend. The bridal party prepared for the nuptial Mass in their former classrooms. The groomsmen had some fellow Domers: Paul Hotovy ’11, ’13, Michael Sheridan ’12, James Maslar, Joseph Klinker ’10, and Kameron Mayne. The bridesmaids included several Domers and Belles: Caroline Kernan ’18, Marta Kernan (Present), Kathleen Schwab ’13, and Madison Overly ’16, ’17. Fr. Ryan Pietrocarlo ’11, ’16 presided over the Mass. On July 14, 2018, Aubrey Michael Rabon Jr and Claire Streitman were married in Minnetonka, MN. Many 2011 ND grads were in attendance and several were in the wedding party: Nicole Wehner, Mary Elizabeth Calabrese, Marisa Gaither, Erin Dobbertin, Mikey Maurer, and Zach Reuvers. It was quite a day to remember! Sean Poe married Rachel Loveland on October 6th in Asheville, NC. Fr. James King presided and the groomsmen included ND alumni Stephen Dye, Joey Moore, Matt Gring, Michael Ackroyd, Kale Frank, and David Ruffer. Congratulations to Brittany Mallory who recently married Frank March in her home state of Maryland. Danielle Ribera is also recently betrothed. She and her Bay-area beau, Yaser Najafi, are swiping right on a lifetime of happiness. Lisa Folkerth is now a married woman (sorry fellas). She and fellow attorney, Sam Leifer, made it legal last spring in that other Midwest college town that shall not be named. Cheers to the happy couple! Kate and Nick DeTrempe welcomed daughter Cora Lynn on November 2, 2018 in San Francisco. She was baptized at the Log Chapel in January. Brian and Erica Cook are happy to share the birth of our son, Theodore Francis Cook, on December 11, 2018. Tony and Caitlin (Sullivan) Ayala welcomed their first child, Emilia Rose Sullivan Ayala, on November 28, 2018 in Evanston, IL. She was baptized in January 2019 by their good friend and fellow Stanford Hall Griffin, Deacon Kyle Tennant. John and Kaitlin (Robinson) Lalor were blessed with their second daughter, Maeve Grace, in July. Maeve and big sister, Tess, will soon be regulars on Notre Dame’s campus. The whole family is moving to the South Bend area when John begins his position of Assistant Professor in Mendoza this fall. Ryo Isshiki, and Grace (Fidgeon) Isshiki, welcomed their first child, Oliver Patrick Isshiki, on November 3rd, 2018. Ted and Colleen Horn welcomed their first child, Josephine Anne, in July 2018 and currently reside in Cincinnati, OH. After moving around the world with the Navy, Ted has transferred to the reserves and taken a job with GE Aviation. Andrew Kelly and Tara McAndrews Kelly brought a new human into the world. Isla Patricia Kelly was born on November 16, 2018 and is already cooler than all of us. Lindsay Schwartz and Adam Gruner are expecting their first child, a baby girl, in April 2019. The couple will be moving from Los Angeles back to Chicago, where Lindsay will start fellowship in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the University of Chicago. — Evan James; ndclass2011@gmail.com
11MBA Class Secretary — Mimi Wilfong;
903-714-4988; mimitwilfong@gmail.com
11JD Future Domers
I am so sorry to have missed the last magazine; my bad. Keep me in line by sending me updates. So, what did we miss? Well, we keep adding future Domers. Annie Weir and Chris Weir welcomed William “Liam” MacDonald Weir on Nov. 18. Nyeri Ahmed Adesokan decided to double that feat and welcomed Major Ayodeji and Maci Oluwadarasimi on Sept. 15 with husband Adeniyi. Kaitlin and Jason DiNapoli welcomed sweet Giulia in July, a true Italian babe welcomed in Italy during Jason’s overseas stint with Army JAG Corps. Linda Ubokudom married Lamar Winslow ’13JD in the motherland, South Bend, on June 9. A great crowd of Domers attended including, Devin Villarosa, Nyeri Ahmed Adesokan, Jean Bak, Lakwame Anyane-Yeboa and Annie Huang Knoth. Steven Anderson proposed to his girlfriend Cara and she said yes. — Lauren Sharkey; lksharkey@gmail.com
12 Wedding and Baby Updates
Sarah Snyder ’09 and Ed Redden were married at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Oct. 20. They shared the day with the Garth Brooks concert, wind, rain, sleet and snow. Domer groomsmen in attendance included Jim Redden ’10 and Conor Wolohan. Bridesmaids included Laura (Nawrocki) Krcmaric ’09, Lisa (Russ) Clemente ’09 and Paula (Alfonso) Crowley ’09. Friends from both years were in attendance for celebrations, including Cory Scott, Claire Scott (Ziemba), Sohail Walia, Mike Doyle, Kaitlyn (Howard) Doyle, John Kane, Andrew Greybar, Ryan Traudt, Kevin Soran, Kevin Roberts, Michelle Hopke, Michael Quigley, and John Ghazi. Other attendes included 2012 graduates from Saint Mary’s college: Natalie (Bartzen) Sharbrough, Holly (Karches) Bachus, Courtney O'Neill, Katie (Herbig) Sorice, Claire Egan, Molly (Borg) Ghazi. In other news, Olivia (Colangelo) and Benjamin Mall welcomed their first son, Arthur Benjamin Mall on Dec. 13. Congratulations. — Tyler Harmsen; Ricardo Lyon 361, Santiago, Chile; tharmsen@alumni.nd.edu
12MBA Class Secretary — Chris Villani;
christopher.villani@gmail.com
12JD Transitions
Good day, everyone. As per usual, babies come first. Julia and Andrew Roman grew their family with the addition of daughter Evelyn Marie in November. Andrew was kind enough to send me a snapshot of Julia and their two kiddos. It was, in a word, adorable. Mike Mattingly and his wife Michelle (Meyers) are entering the realm of parenthood with their first child expected in May. Mike is working at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Cincinnati, where he’s been fighting the good fight for the past few years. To finish out news on babies, Brian Boyle has been sending lots of videos of baby Cary, including a new sport Brian invented called Baby Curling. Don't worry, safety regulations are stringent. I suspect he wants to keep reminding me about that time I said Bryan Boyle was Cary’s dad, but I'm certainly not complaining about the cute videos. Moving on to jobs, Terry O’Donovan made a pivot, taking a position as a software developer at the Pittsburgh non-profit Oncology Nursing Society. He's excited to find intersections between this new field and the legal field and wanted me to encourage anyone who has ideas to hit him up. Abhishek Kambli also made a transition, leaving his JAG role and taking a position with the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Indiana. Based out of Indianapolis, Abhishek will be in the criminal division, where a substantial chunk of his caseload will involve drug trafficking cases. Finally, Andrew Doyle, “fully embraced his inner Anakin Skywalker, leaving the Deschutes County Public Defender’s Office to become a deputy DA at the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. Same judges and defendants, just sitting on the other side of the table. And in a move that shocks nobody, (Andrew) immediately founded a DA indoor soccer team. John Sager and Dante Tota were unavailable for comment, but Andrew is seeing if he can bring them into the DA’s office, on loan, next season. (Andrew) also finally got a Tesla. Praise be to Elon.” In the last piece of job news, our very own Alvin Adjei hung out a shingle, starting the BA Law firm with Reed Burritt ’14JD. Alvin and I recently spoke, and he said that things are going well based on word-of-mouth and social media referrals. They even have a website, which features Alvin sporting a strong suit and tie combo. It was a great outfit, and I’m happy that I suggested it to him. Finally, Armando Montesino tore his hamstring trying to replicate a magic trick first performed by Brittany Hunt’s son, Joey. Armando was pretty sure he could pull it off, but it ended up being much more difficult than anticipated. His recovery is expecting to be long, painful, and kind of embarrassing. — James Champlin; james.c.champlin@gmail.com
13 At Least Alabama Lost
Hello everyone and thanks for reading all the way to this point. Hopefully you didn’t have to read the article before mine, written by that chucklehead Jimmy Champlin. Word is he outsources a lot of his writing. Anyways, we’ll start off with some family updates. Alex Moulten and Rob Nelson got engaged in September. I didn’t get many details of the engagement, and I can promise you that my imagination won’t do it justice. Just ask my fiancée how “imaginative” my proposal was. Making a pepperoni heart pizza doesn’t play as well as it does in the movies, especially when your fiancée is vegetarian. Maggie Kakenmaster and Brian DePriest got married April 14, 2018 with Agata Gorzela as a bridesmaid. As if planning a wedding wasn’t enough, Maggie is also pursuing her MBA at UNC. And since she’s not an athlete, she must take real classes. Kathleen and Ben Foster had their second daughter, Clare, in May. I was just convincing my family that it’s totally fine that there aren’t grandchildren yet, and then Ben and Kathleen lap me. Finally, the Toole clan continued to send me intermittently threatening and cajoling emails regarding Aaron Stumpf, who sent in his own photographic proof but still conceded that both kids are wonderful. His only hope is that both sets of parents will win the lottery so they can pay Notre Dame tuition starting in 2038. For professional updates, Alison V. Podlaski joined the law firm of Barrett McNagny LLP in Chicago and will be focusing on real estate and business law. On the similar vein of people doing things that are way over my heads, Kevin Kelly started a new job in Fermilab after getting his PhD in “theoretical particle physics” at Northwestern. He and his wife Greta bought a house in Aurora IL for a better commute. Theoretically. Greta also let me know that Rosemary (Kelly) Meagher and her husband, Matt Meagher, recently moved from Chicago to Greenfield IN. Thus, is the lifecycle of many Notre Dame graduates, to intermittently move between Illinois and Indiana. Philip Anderson graduated from Texas A&M with a Master of Science Degree in statistics. I had a cousin who went to A&M for statistics, what are the odds of that? Or is it probability? The Loyola U New Orleans College of Law (commonly known as LUNOCL) emailed me about Emily Degan, a first-year student who’s a member of their Ignatian Law Scholars Program, the college’s highest honor for new law students. She is an Ignatian Montlawyer. If you rear-end her father, prepare to settle. Two more classmates joined me in scenic Cincinnati this past fall and winter. Jess Heintz interviewed where I’m doing residency, only I didn’t find out until someone asked, “hey did you know this person in college?” Michael Ji, fellow Safewalker and protector of campus, also interviewed with the program. There has never been a safer tour given. As a social update, I was fortunate enough see Gregor Shields (birthday), Ryan Lion (end-of-interview season celebration), and Dominic Lucero (heading to Botswana to coach a basketball team) all in the same weekend in Washington, DC. Thank you again for reading. Please keep sending updates. Cheers. — Chris Champlin; nd2013updates@gmail.com
13MBA Nothing Doing
I didn’t get any updates this time around. I hope everyone is doing well. The deadline for the next notes is April 20, so send me info. — Nick Imgrund; 314-775-7364; daimgrund@yahoo.com
13JD Royal Wedding
Our very own Queen of the Commons Ana-Paola Capaldo was married to Lawrence Aoun in St. Petersburg FL in November. A whole retinue of Domers attended. Daniella Palmiotto was maid of honor. Julie Araskog, Kelli Mulder, Meg Olmstead and Grace Donovan also paid homage. Lawrence renounced all claims to foreign titles and was awarded the Duchy of Reckers. Congrats to the happy couple. Annette Allard announced her engagement to Joshuah Emery. They are pulling up stakes in the Big Easy and moving to DC, where Annette will start a new position as attorney advisor at the Administrative Office of the US Courts in the policy division of the Courts Services Office. The bottom line: expect more charming pics of Mango wearing an increasing collection of adorable winter coats. Laissez les bons temps rouler, Annette and Joshuah. Natalie and Charles Galvin are expecting a baby boy in May. No comment from their daughter Lyddie Galvin, but she rules the family with an iron fist, so I don't think it will faze her. Amanda and Adam Mathews welcomed baby Felicity Joan Mathews in December. Adam states that despite Felicity being stuck at third on the depth chart, she has no plans to transfer. Please send me updates. — Alex Blair; apblair@gmail.com
14 Class Secretary — Michael Nichols;
miketnicholsii@gmail.com
14MBA Class Secretary — Jessica Bonanno;
407-808-7148; jbonanno@alumni.nd.edu; Krick Cahill; 518-598-4222; kcahill1@alumni.nd.edu
14JD Updates
This last quarter was pretty uneventful for us as a class, unless you’re Chris Waidelich. Along with switching firms (DM him for details), he won asylum for two former Salvadorian police officers fleeing death threats from MS-13. Round of applause from all of us. It’s something someone like Professor Blakey would be proud of. I had the pleasure of seeing Professor Blakey on my trip to Arizona last week (see our Facebook group for a pic!). He is doing fantastic and casually rocking a convertible Porsche. No surprise, he is as busy as ever litigating cases across the country, and fighting bad guys. You can DM me for more details, or visit him the next time you’re in Phoenix. — Rachel Hanley; rachelhanley@gmail.com
15 Marriage, Moving and Movies
Shannon Hagedorn recently moved to New York City to start a new career with KPMG. She has participated in many Notre Dame Club of New York City events and would love to connect with classmates in the area. Karen Lesiewicz starred in a faith-based independent film, Heavens to Betsy 2, a sequel. It premiered in select theaters in the Chicago area. Along with the first movie, it is available on PureFlix (Christian Netflix), Amazon Prime Video and DVD. Lindsay Renz and Ted Williams are engaged and will get married at Notre Dame in July. After eight years of dating, Tommy Rogers proposed to Kimia Ghazi on Oct. 19. The two will tie the knot in Cincinnati this year. — Emily Flores; eflores2@alumni.nd.edu
15JD On the Move
Hello 2015 JDs. We have several exciting lateral moves to celebrate. Sarah Gallo is an assistant attorney general in the special litigation bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Fellow Chicagoan Patrick Duffey moved to Morgan Lewis, where classmate Kensi Wolgamott has been practicing since February 2018. Alyssa (Bachman) Russell just moved to Sidley Austin. She joined Blair Warner and Jackson Garvey in the firm’s restructuring group. I’m sure there are more exciting career moves to share so, please send them my way. This winter, Katie Beaudin made moves to Panama for a weeklong vacation. Katie lives in Newport Beach CA, and practices business litigation at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. And, her dog Todd is the cutest. Please email or text me other personal and professional life updates, or cute dog mentions. — Alisa Finelli; 202-321-3731; alisafinelli@gmail.com
16 Ice, Ice, Baby
I write to you from South Bend where the temperature is -20 degrees, and hopefully by the time that we’re reading this in print it has warmed up. Speaking of ice, the engagements just keep coming. Brendan Bell ’15 proposed to Kelly Griffith in a DC Trader Joe’s in the wine aisle where they first met five years ago. Apparently this wasn’t the first engagement TJ’s has hosted but it was by far my favorite. Congratulations to Zack Zamora and Molly St Romain ’15 M.Ed. on their engagement. They’ll be married in May in New Orleans where he works as an engineer and she as a teacher. Jimmy dePierro and May Stewart are engaged and will be married on campus this summer. Chalem Bolton proposed to Shannon Sheehan in Ann Arbor, MI and they’re planning for an August 2020 wedding. Congrats to all these other happy couples who got engaged over the last few months — Mary Kate Vicenzi and Danny Muldoon, Caitlin Beauchamp and Nick Holuta, Katie Higgins and Aaron Dunn, Miranda Palazzolo and Vince Ricelli, Liz Troyer and Thom Behrens, Katie Harris and Matt O’Brien, Kate Hermeling and Matthew Hutchinson, Olivia Tuck and Derek Kuns, Maggie Adams and John Paul Spence, Caroline Kernoodle and Drew Bergonia, Gabriella Pettinichi and Diego Rayas… I know I even missed a few! Dominique (Nguyen) and Michael Blume ’15 were married last August in DC, and Dominique just started her clinical year at University of Pittsburgh’s Physician Assistant program this January. Kate (Everett) and Dale Lobo welcomed sweet Siena Grace back in November and are loving every minute of life with her. They live in Chicago while Dale spends his free time studying at Loyola’s med school. In December, Ellen (O’Brien) and Kyle Richardson celebrated their one year anniversary and also their cute new baby Jack’s one month birthday. Bridget (Bruns) and Chris Moyer had a beautiful winter wedding this February on campus. Libby Schichtel and Fernando Garcia will be married in May in her hometown near Grand Rapids. She also proudly holds the title of “Roommate of the Year” in their house for 2018, beating out James Bowyer but tying with Sherlock the basset hound. Sorry for the short notes this time but I promise to share more next time. Catch me up, let me know what’s going on with you! — Bridget Doyle; bdoyle3@alumni.nd.edu
16MBA Introducing New Secretaries
Dear classmates, we are excited to announce that we will be serving as your new class secretaries. In this role, we will work with Notre Dame Magazine to publish our Class Notes in each of the four issues sent annually. Please send us announcements or life updates. We hope everyone is doing well and we look forward to learning more about what you've been up to. — Kelly Chase; 320 W. Illinois St., Apt. 2116, Chicago 60654; res 952-270-7830; kchase@alumni.nd.edu; Claire Kenney; 7533 Aspect Drive, Apt. 309, Granger IN 46530; res 734-751-2354; ckenney2@alumni.nd.edu
17 Incredible Season
“Summer festivities smelling of popped kettle corn, hay and selvage denim. Notes of vanilla wafting from coffee with Baileys in the early hours of tailgating. A hint of white musk, invigorating and fresh as the Irish fanbase.” This is South Bend, according to the Homesick candle that burns while I write this. Whether this brings you back to a crisp spring morning walking toward the Dome or a sunny fall day of tailgating, I think that if you close your eyes, this puts us all somewhere. Many of us had the opportunity to follow our beloved Irish as they had an incredible season, with lots even traveling to watch the Cotton Bowl with hopeful anticipation. While the game may not have had the outcome that we hoped for, it did provide an opportunity to reconnect with friends and cheer on the Irish. Steve Hanley, Walker Embrey, John Porter, Will Ferguson and John Chereson enjoyed a boy’s weekend for the occasion. Big-time fans Amanda Harbrecht, Katie Kuenster, Kimi Luttrell and Jasmine Curry also traveled down for a minireunion. In October, many members of the Class of 2017 went back to the Bend to celebrate as Brendan Galloway and Tabi Healy tied the knot. In December, Kelsey Lyons married Matthew Greene ’16 in Arizona. Meanwhile, other classmates will begin the busy wedding planning process. Travis Wert proposed to Emily Lenahan, and John Kennedy proposed to girlfriend Caroline Huerta. James Koci will marry Alyssa Mazurek in August, and Patrick Drumm will head back to the Dome to marry Alicia Morris in August. Keough pals Michael Beach, James Mullen, Nick Lombardo, Ryan McMullen and Kris Thieneman will stand beside him as groomsmen. Keep your weekends open and your dancing shoes polished, because the wedding invites keep rolling in. But, before you head to that wedding, send us an update. Have you always wanted to be featured in Notre Dame Magazine? Now is your chance. Send your update. — Celanire Flagg; cflagg@alumni.nd.edu
17MBA First Column
Hello, everybody. I am honored to serve as secretary of the MBA Class of 2017. As we move farther from our graduation, this column will become vital to staying in touch. So please send me your life updates. Have you gotten engaged or married recently? Did you welcome a child into the world? How about that new job? Or what about that class reunion? Send me everything. I can’t wait to hear from you. Go Irish. — Mary Tomasik; mtomasik@alumni.nd.edu