2000s

00 Class Secretary — Laurie (Strotman) O’Malley;

ndbug3@hotmail.com

 

00MBA Class Secretary — Georgette (Leonard) Stubin;

46917 Polo Drive, Canton MI 48187; mba2000@alumni.nd.edu

 

00JD Fun and Games

For this issue’s Class Notes, I had the pleasure of interviewing our classmate, Tammy Brandt, over Zoom about her interesting new role at FaZe Clan. Tammy joined FaZe Clan in March as chief legal officer and head of business and legal affairs. FazeClan is a prominent and influential gaming organization known for its disruptive original content and hyper-engaged global fanbase. FaZe Clan holds an unrivaled position at the epicenter of gaming, sports, culture and entertainment, driving how the next generation consumes content, plays and shops. I would like to thank Tammy for agreeing to be featured in these notes. I hope everyone is doing well. — Daniel Hardwick; danhardwick@gmail.com

 

01 Chairs and Children

Chad McTighe has been appointed Chair of the Stites & Harbison, PLLC’s Business Litigation Service Group and part of the firm’s Louisville office. Bill Reuter and his wife, Lora, just celebrated the birth of their second child, Cole Allen Rueter. Also, I apologize if I lost any other updates with the change in to 2021. Please follow up if you shared something as it is great to share what everyone is up to. Hope everyone has a great summer and our paths cross at a tailgate in the fall. Please post to our Instagram account @nd2001alumni if you have anything to share.  Also, we now have an email account as well: classof2001@alumni.nd.edu. — Michael Anselmi; manselmi@alumni.nd.edu

 

01MBA Class Secretary — Dominic Pang;

dpang@panglaw.com 

 

01JD Career News 

Shonda Maupin Folsom celebrated her fifth anniversary of owning The Folsom Law Firm PLLC. Shonda was selected by the Big Spring Area Chamber of Commerce as one of the 5 Under 55 business and community influencers in Big Spring TX. I hope you and your families are in good health. Please remember to send me updates for our column. — Jonell Lucca; cell 602-677-3266; jonelllucca@yahoo.com 

 

02 Coaching Offered

Kerry Walsh completed her executive coaching certification through UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and launched The Atalanta Group, an executive coaching boutique focused on developing empathetic and influential leaders. The Atalanta Group offers coaching programs for professional services providers transitioning to in-house positions and group coaching for new hire cohorts in professional services. Kerry also continues to serve as vice president and litigation counsel for Fidelity National Financial, a Fortune 500 company and industry leader in title and settlement services nationwide. Congratulations to Jenny Burke, who was promoted to executive vice president, advertising strategy at NBCUniversal. Jenny will take on an expanded role with oversight of NBCUniversal’s One Platform growth strategy, ranging from global and local to streaming, continuing to drive the transformation of advertising at NBC. Jenny has been with NBCU for nearly 20 years, earned an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2011 and was named to Adweek’s “Young Influentials” in 2020. Kristin Kaple-Jones recently accepted a position as superintendent of Monroeville Local Schools in North Central Ohio. A small rural district, Kristin is looking forward to serving the community and school district beginning in August. Thanks everyone for the updates. Wishing you all a healthy and happy summer. — Lisa (Sestile) Corcoran; lsestile@alumni.nd.edu

 

02MBA Looking Ahead 

Brian Laible returned to his hometown of Buffalo NY after our MBA graduation and lives there with wife Jennifer. They celebrate nine years of marriage in June. Their children are Grace, 7; Jack, 6; Jane, 4; and Anna, 1. They are busy, happy and blessed with great kids. In 2011, Brian left his post-graduation job and started his own firm, Landmark Wealth Management. They have eight employees and $400 million of assets under management. They focus on investment and tax management for high-net-worth individuals and institutions locally and around the country. Brian was recently elected to the local school board and works to help their school district during this challenging time. He returns to Notre Dame when he can. He feels blessed with his life, family, friends and career and is looking forward to seeing our class get together at our 20-year reunion. Thanks for the update and please keep them coming, all. — Melissa Hurd; hurdmc@yahoo.com

 

02JD Scholarship and the Southern Border

Kristina Campbell recently published an article, “The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Failure to Protect Refugee Children on the US-Mexico Border,” in Peace Policy, which is published by the University’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. You can hear Kristina discuss the thesis of her article in “The Kroc Cast: Peace Studies Conversations” podcast, which you can find, along with the article, on the Kroc Institute’s website. Kristina is a professor of law at the U of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law where she teaches in the areas of constitutional, administrative and immigration law and was the founding director of the school’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Kristina lives in Maryland with her daughter, Flor Estrella, 16. Thank you, Kristina, for your work in this important area of law. — Ryan D. Costantini; 414 S. Notre Dame Ave., South Bend IN 46617; mobile 574-339-8050; ryan.costantini@gmail.com

 

03 In Memory of Peter J. Frasso Jr.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Peter J. Frasso Jr., who passed away suddenly in January. He leaves behind his fiancée, her daughter and their unborn baby due in July. Peter played tuba in the Irish marching band, which allowed him to attend every home football game sitting in the best seats. He loved the band, Irish football and his bandmates. He will be greatly missed. In other news, after 17 years in London, Libby Bishop has relocated to NYC with her daughter Chloe, 9. She transferred with Citi, as a director in an investment banking business management/COO role. Sarah Baum is happy to share that she got married on Oct. 10, 2020, to Jadran Lee. They had to cancel their spring wedding but were able to tie the knot on a beautiful fall day near their home in Chicago. Her stepson, Julian Lee, served as the best man and two close friends served as the officiant and photographer. Joe Essner and Allie Paharik ’10 were married in St. Louis at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish on Dec. 4. Despite the craziness of 2020, including having to postpone once, they were able to have a safe and happy celebration with close friends and family. Alumni in attendance included groomsman Rich Knox, Jim Ryan and Ethan Paharik ’12. It has been a busy few months for Joe, who in January took the reigns as lead manager for Perspecta in St. Louis. Go Irish. — Josh Gentine; jgentine@alumni.nd.edu

 

03MBA Class Secretary — Rosemary Guillette;

9 Messenger St., Unit 7, Plainville MA 02762; rguillette@alumni.nd.edu 

 

03JD Class Secretary — Lawrence A. Ward;

206-903-8817; ward.lawrence@dorsey.com 

 

04 Baby News

Vivian (Cepero) Atherton and her husband, Danny, are thrilled to announce the birth of their first child, Carolina Elena, on Nov. 19 in Miami. On Sept. 20, Molly and Sean MacCready welcomed their daughter, Maya Coletta MacCready, into their family, joining big brother Ansel. Maya’s godparents are Class of ’04 graduates Nestor Alvarado and Linda Hu. We are a little short on updates this time. Please keep them coming. — Carol Martino; carolmartino10@gmail.com

 

04MBA This is Jeopardy!

Sam Stapleton competed on Jeopardy! in December and in early January. His episodes aired in late February. Sam was a two-day champion and his participation in the MBA program’s South Africa program helped him run the table in the Africa category during his second win. Sam joins classmate Jeffrey Stewart, a five-day Jeopardy! champion and a contestant in the Tournament of Champions against Ken Jennings in representing our class on the esteemed game show. Keep the updates coming. — Harry Howisen; hhowisen@gmail.com

 

04JD Stalking and Libel Disfavored

Hello from your new class secretary. I hope this column finds you well. I am pleased to report a few updates. Chad McTighe has been appointed chair of the litigation service group at Stites & Harbison in Louisville KY. Chad also serves on the board of directors of the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation. Sarah and Ian Kennedy live in Kalamazoo MI with their five children. Ian is senior vice president and global general counsel for Kalsec Inc. (or, as the family likes to call him, “the Spice King of Kalamazoo”). Ian also serves as vice president of his family while Sarah continues as president. Benjamin Whipple is a partner at the Law Offices of Paul L. Williams & Assoc., a law firm that focuses primarily on legislative and governmental affairs in Illinois. Ben works out of the Springfield office and provides representation to clients in a range of industries when the General Assembly is in session. As for me, I’m a deputy district attorney in Oakland CA and live with my fellow prosecutor husband and our two daughters in Danville CA. Please email me with updates. I hope to always have something to write here, so if you don’t email me, I’ll have to start stalking you or will simply make things up. — Katie (Wharton) DeFerrari; katiedeferrari@gmail.com

 

05 Class Secretary — Caroline Meehan;

caroline.meehan@gmail.com

 

05MBA Career and Family News

Chad Compton leads a team that manages global partnerships for Nuance Communications, Inc., one of which is Microsoft Corp. Recently, Microsoft announced that it would be acquiring Nuance, its second biggest acquisition. Chad and wife Emily live in South Bend with their two kids. Yours truly, Himanshu Gosar, and my wife welcomed our second son, Samarth, in August 2020. Big brother Siddharth is excited to have a sibling. I was promoted to director, strategy and mergers and acquisitions at Textron, Inc. last year. We are enjoying our lives in a cozy lakeside neighborhood in Rhode Island. Please send in your updates for the next column. Take care, and good luck in life and work. — Himanshu Gosar; hgosar@alumni.nd.edu; ndmba2005-owner@googlegroups.com

 

05JD Accolades

Down along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Al Stashis has been elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), one of approximately 125 Florida attorneys and 2,500 attorneys worldwide who have achieved this distinguished honor. Al is a shareholder of Dunwody White & Landon in Naples FL. He is board certified in wills, trusts and estates by the Florida Bar and serves clients in the firm’s Naples, Palm Beach and Miami offices. He focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, federal income, estate, gift and generation skipping transfer (GST) taxation, planning for Florida domicile, planning for charitable contributions and foundations, and planning for distributions from IRAs and other qualified retirement plans. Al holds an AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized by his peers in Best Lawyers, Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Trend and Naples Illustrated. Elsewhere in Florida, our own Pat Kilbane was on hand when NFL Hall of Famer Tim Brown ’88 shot a hole-in-one on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament. He was teamed up with Tim as part of a foursome. It is always enjoyable to see a Fighting Irish legend upstage a Florida Gator event. Speaking of Florida, I had the chance to catch up with Dennis Creed. He is the managing partner of Creed & Hall in Tampa, where he specializes in complex business litigation. Needing a hand up in Dallas, I connected Dennis with Katie Anand and her exceptional team at Estes Thorne & Carr PLLC. Besides earning a Best Lawyers in America nod for her construction and commercial litigation defense practice, Katie serves on the board of the St. Thomas More Society and on the advisory board for Rainbow Days Inc., a Dallas-based charity that helps children all over the country overcome adversity and have promising futures. Elsewhere in Texas, yours truly, Adam Russ, joined Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett as a member in the firm’s Houston office. The full-service firm has offices in Texas and Louisiana and roots in New Orleans dating back to 1895. The firm is nationally ranked and handles complex matters across a wide array of industries throughout the Gulf Coast. Some well-deserved kudos round out this quarter’s installment. In December 2020, Adam Townshend was awarded a special commendation by the US Department of Justice for his work on the Universal Health Services investigation. Adam’s work also has touched upon enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, when he oversaw investigations concerning undisclosed foreign influence in federally sponsored research. For his efforts, he received a Director’s Award for Superior Performance by an Assistant US Attorney in March. Thanks, Adam, for all you do. Aside from that, he reports that life with Gretchen ’04JD and their three kids is great in Grand Rapids MI. Let him know if you are in the neighborhood. — Adam J. Russ; Houston TX; adamjruss@gmail.com

 

06 Honored

GE Aviation’s Science & Technology Award was presented to Brian Prenger. The award is given annually to an engineer who demonstrates creativity, perseverance and leadership in delivering solutions which advance the state of the art and provide a significant business impact. Ted Somers was elected partner at his law firm, Buckley LLP, in the firm’s Chicago office in March. — Anna (Skoien) Lall; annagracelall@gmail.com 

 

06MBA Class Secretary — Mike Lloyd;

mt_lloyd@yahoo.com

 

06JD Class Secretary — Amir Hassan Sadaghiani;

sadaghiani@alumni.nd.edu

           

07 Summer News

Congratulations to classmate Colleen (Farrell) McHugh on the publication of her debut novel, The Barbary Lion, which is available for purchase on Amazon under CP McHugh. Filled with suspense, The Barbary Lion tells the story of a female drone engineer who gets caught up in a drug smuggling operation and must outsmart everyone around her to make it out alive. You can learn more at Colleen’s website, cpmchughbooks.com. Julie (Pearce) Argentieri has been elevated to principal in Jackson Lewis PC’s Chicago office. Philip Lashutka joined Jones Obenchain LLP as an attorney in the firm’s South Bend office. His primary practice areas include litigation and municipal issues, and he has experience in all phases of litigation and alternate dispute resolution. Reminger Co., LPA recently elevated Houston Hum to shareholder status. Houston practices in Reminger’s Indianapolis office where he defends clients in federal and state court litigation. Houston was awarded the Tara K. Deutsch Award which goes to the accounting senior who has shown “exemplary social consciousness and devotion to efforts to give hope to the less fortunate.” Sharon (Brown) Hiltz and Greg Hiltz ’06 welcomed their first child, Patton John Hiltz, on Dec. 12. Francesca (Seta) Whalen and Brendan Whalen welcomed their third son, Declan James Whalen, on March 11. Jane King and Rick King welcomed their fourth child, Courtney Elise King, on April 8. Bill Andrichik was promoted to partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Chicago. Bill focuses his practice on commercial litigation and has been recognized on the Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list and the Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list. Congratulations to all our classmates. God bless. Go Irish. Please send your updates. — Stephanie Pelligra; ndclassnotes2007@gmail.com

 

07MBA Promotion and Yoga

Mike Mercier was promoted to EVP at Wells Fargo, leading a team of underwriting officers across multiple industries focused on major equipment financing deals. Mike and his wife, Amy, recently bought a new house in Milton MA and are adjusting to life in the suburbs with their two kids. With the stress brought on by COVID and absence of work/family boundaries due to work from home, Mike discovered the benefits of “sound yoga” and opened his first studio. Sound yoga promotes stress relief and well-being by combining yoga practices with instruments such as Tibetan bowls and Native American flutes. Let’s get more updates. — Tim Ponisciak; tponisci@nd.edu

 

07JD Class Secretary — Patrick A. Salvi II;

Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., 161 N. Clark St., Suite 4700, Chicago IL 60601; 312-372-1227; psalvi2@salvilaw.com

 

08 Already a Good Year

Summer has arrived. We hope your home has air conditioning, unlike your old dorm. Hot air aside, we hope that this summer brings you great memories and fun with your family and ND friends. The person we least expected to have a child is having a child. Emily and Jesse Brawer are expecting their first baby, a boy, in July. Baby Brawer already likes Springsteen and hyperbole. 2021 is already a good year. Lindsay (Wright) Brett and Clay Brett welcomed their second child, Caroline Clayton Donovan Brett, in January. Big brother Jack is already hard at work teaching Cece the Victory March. Several former Fisher and O’Neill Hall members recently met to discuss Patrick McInerney and their collective children. The discussion devolved into who has the best sandwich recipe. Included in the conversation was whether wraps should be in the sandwich category. Matt Mattare argued that wraps belong in their own category. Current Notre Dame accounting professor John Donovan’s photo of his homemade Cuban sandwich closely won first place in the sandwich category. Drew Whiting got into a heated debate over the best pickle garnish. He swears by Vlasic. William Kearney’s next child will be named Sandwich. It is due to the quarantine, folks. Former Irish rower Ankica Jedry and her husband, Christopher Goduto, welcomed their first child, Raphael Leonardo Goduto, on Feb. 7. The parents are overjoyed and loving their little Irish fan. Andrew Zeiser has outlived Patrick Gotebeski’s sophomore-year prediction for Andrew’s lifespan. Well done, Andrew. Analisa Arizpe and Ben Mueller ’10MEd received Luvburger T-shirts from the hit 1998 movie Can’t Hardly Wait. Both shirts were delayed by weeks because Patrick O’Brien addressed the shirts to Mike Dexter and Preston Myers. Elissa and Lawrence Sullivan moved to San Diego several months ago. They live a few blocks from the beach and own extra surf boards. Patrick Ryan moved nearby. Mike Lee ’09 moved to Hawaii. Stay cool, Class of 2008. And as always, thank you to our Class of 2008 frontline workers. We are praying for you. — Patrick O’Brien; classof2008@alumni.nd.edu

 

08MBA Class Secretary — Megan Ulrich;

meganlouisefitzgibbons@gmail.com

 

08JD Congratulations to Growing Family

Rachel (Luberda) and Steve Copenhaver shared that big brother Lucas is excited to announce the Copenhaver family welcomed Elizabeth Marie on Feb. 26. The family is doing well and happily adjusting to their new routine as a family of four. Finally, in memory of Kyle D. Smith, the Class of 2008 Mock Trial Award fund has been established at NDLS. Please donate at donate.nd.edu, and under “Designations” mark “Kyle D. Smith Class of 2008 Mock Trial Award.” This is an expendable scholarship meaning that we will be able to award the scholarship if we have money in the fund. Please be generous this year and in years to come. — Marie-Therese Mansfield; mt.mansfield1@gmail.com  

 

09 Doing Better Than Fine

Class of ’09 grads continue to influence their communities daily, and we are proud to be associated with each other. Greer Hannan ’09, ’14MNA, ’15MDiv married Brian Rabek at her parish in Louisville KY in June 2020. The pandemic limited their guest list to 14 people, but Notre Dame was well-represented by Rev. Justin Brophy, OP, ’06, ’20PhD who presided at the nuptials, and her immediate family: John Hannan ’78, Koral (Miller) Hannan ’79, Nathaniel Hannan ’02, Darragh Hannan ’08, Theodora Hannan ’14, and Cavanaugh Hannan ’20. They hope to host a wedding reception when it is safe to do so. Brian Sullivan married Katie Koecheler in Palos Verdes CA in November 2020, having postponed their originally scheduled wedding from May 2020. Tim Cummings and wife Megan (Welsch) ’08SMC welcomed a baby boy in April 2020. Tim graduated from American U Washington College of Law in May. The family moved to Pittsburgh where Tim started his judicial clerkship with a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Erica Haas and her husband, Tom, welcomed their first child, Mila Evelyn Haas, on March 30. Please visit the Notre Dame Class of 2009 Facebook Page to reconnect with members of the class. If you have any additional news or announcements, please contact me. Go Irish. — Megan Flynn; megflynn7@gmail.com

 

09MBA Class Secretary — Shawn Pulscher;

801-336-7344; spulscher@alumni.nd.edu

 

09JD Class Secretary — Josh Rinschler;

josh.rinschler@gmail.com