2010s
2010s
10 Ups and Downs
Andy Nester and Mackenzie (Woods) Nester ’15SMC welcomed their daughter Nora in July. Amanda (Frick) ’14 and Ted Reinhold welcomed their son James Herbert “Jamie” Reinhold in August. Dominique Dallas and Henry Vasquez welcomed their first child, Francesca, in September. Jackie Burke and Daniel Wong welcomed their second daughter, Mallory Eimear Wong, on Sept. 7. Congratulations to the happy parents and the newest Irish fans! I am saddened to report the death of our classmate Erica Pedroza. Our hearts and prayers are with her family. Let your classmates know what you’re up to – send updates to NDClass2010@gmail.com. Go Irish! — Matt Molloy; ndclass2010@gmail.com
10MBA Class Secretary — John Gerberich;
cell 847-331-4707; jgerberi@alumni.nd.edu
10JD Class Secretary — Jennifer (Hernandez) Laffitte;
10310 Southwest 128th Ave., Miami FL 33186; res 305-322-7154; bus 786-762-3815; jherna11@alumni.nd.edu
11 The ND Crew Continues to Expand
Join me for some baby announcements: Lauren (Henderson) and John Harig have enjoyed an eventful 2023, welcoming their first child, Maeve Josephine, in March. The Harigs moved from Chicago to Cincinnati in August, and Maeve was baptized in October, with Lauren’s twin sister, Catherine Henderson, and John’s brother Jim Harig ’09 as godparents. Bethany (Laubacher) and John O’Hollaren welcomed their second son, Andrew Vincent O’Hollaren, born May 27. In April, Stephanie, Jim and big brother Finn Mulhern Ogorzalek welcomed baby Jack. In August, Stephanie joined the White House Gender Policy Council as the director of global gender issues. In June, Anna-Claire Marrone, Terry McLaughlin and big sister Violet McLaughlin welcomed baby Louisa. In October, Anna-Claire began working as a pediatric cardiologist at the U of Rochester Medical Center, where she will focus on building a program for patients with single ventricle heart disease. In August, Erin (Semler) and Dr. Evan James, and big sister Isabelle James welcomed baby Thomas. This fall, Erin was promoted to senior lead litigation counsel at LinkedIn. The three “Mama Bears” look forward to continuing their daily text chain as they learn to navigate life as moms of two. Last but certainly not least, Natalie and Justin Sablich had their first child, Audrey, in August. Congrats to all! — Kate Clitheroe; class president; class11@nd.edu
11MBA Class Secretary — Mimi Wilfong;
903-714-4988; mimitwilfong@gmail.com
11JD Class Secretary — Lauren Sharkey ’08;
shark.byam@gmail.com
12 A New Baby
Nick Schappler and wife Meaghan welcomed their first child, Rhea Jane Schappler, on Sept. 30. Congrats on the new addition to the family! Please continue to send any class updates that you may have to — Tyler Harmsen; tharmsen@alumni.nd.edu
12MBA Class Secretary — Jennafer Palumbo;
jennafer.palumbo@gmail.com
12JD News in Georgia
Greetings, classmates! Thank you once again for turning your attention to this, the last piece of decent reading before you get to the regrettable dreck printed directly below (after which decent reading begins again). While I’m sure none of you agree with last issue’s baseless attack levied against me by the “author” serving as my immediate subordinate, I’m sure we can all understand and feel compassion for a younger brother’s urge to lash out after a lifetime of living in the shadow of his predecessor. I forgive you, Chris. Oh, and Mom asked me to tell you to stop calling her so often, once every other month is more than enough. Anyways, moving on to the content you came here for, here’s the news! Abhishek Kambli left the Southern District of IN’s US Attorney’s Office to head a newly created special litigation and constitutional issues division at the KS Attorney General’s Office. Ryan Shupe also started a new position, joining Komatsu America Corp. as senior counsel. Jimmy Mitchell joined the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of GA in October, where he will work as a civil attorney focusing largely on cases involving Medicare fraud. If you have a great memory, you may notice that his job description is very close to my own at the GA Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. And you might even be thinking, “Wow, I wonder if the two NDLS 2012 Jimmys will be collaborating on cases involving both Medicare and Medicaid fraud?” The answer is yes. Federal Jimmy will be joining Sharon Lim, who has worked as a civil attorney at the NDGA USAO for the past three years and is very happy to work with her law school pal. Alvin Adjei and I got to meet up during his brief stop in Atlanta over the summer, where he got to meet his new honorary niece, Charlie Champlin (yes, we know). Alvin was happy to hold the baby until she was suddenly in dire need of a diaper change, at which point he was very quick to hand her back to me. Apparently insulted by what he interpreted to be an intentional slight by Lottie (we can’t decide on a nickname yet), Alvin stood up from the table, took back the signed copy of his book that he brought her as a gift and sprinted full-speed out of the coffeeshop. Which made for an awkward trip when we drove him to the airport for his flight home to Houston. That’s all, and every word is true! Keep sending those updates my way. — Jimmy Champlin; james.c.champlin@gmail.com
13 Thanks for Tuning In
Hello fellow classmates, thanks for reading all the way to the class columns. It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of two classmates. Dr. Robert Novak, who after a career playing soccer for ND became a physician, passed away on Aug. 24. Dr. Elexis Ellis, who continued her studies by getting a Ph.D. from Yale, passed away July 1. My sincerest condolences to their friends and families. I do have some good news I’d like to share as well. Greg Doonan and his wife, Liz, who live in Durham NC, had their first child, Kieran Doonan, on July 27. According to Greg, they “had to give him a good Irish name.” I’m fairly confident they were instrumental in the gritty victory over Duke. Here’s to hoping that by now, they’re finally getting some sleep. Kaylin (Cook) DeDiana and her husband, Mark, had baby number four, Alice Marie, in August. She mentioned in her email that “I think this might actually be the first baby we’re sending an update about, but better late than never!” I am here to confirm, after reading through my old emails (that I never delete), that it is indeed the first. Megan (Poloskey) Zimmerman and her husband, Eric, welcomed Henry Louis on June 19. Megan is one of the most wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and Henry is exceptionally lucky to have such a great mom. In professional news, Father Ryan Ackmann, after leaving his career as a pension actuary in 2017 to enter the seminary, was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on May 20. Those of you at the Reunion hopefully were present when he offered a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica with his previous roommate Rev. Dan Samide preaching. We also have a new author in the class. Kelsey Blais Dobson published a Notre Dame-themed children’s book, A to Z of ND. I personally love the inclusion of “hidden secret squirrels on each spread” in the book description. It’s about time the squirrels got their day in the limelight of ND fanfare, beyond a few articles in The Observer. Thank you all for sending updates of your lives, your families and your friends. I look forward to hearing more! Cheers. — Chris Champlin; nd2013updates@gmail.com
13MBA More Babies
Happy to report on more babies! Alex Marcell and Michell Purvis welcomed a son, James Anthony Marcell, on Aug. 19. He has been faithfully cheering on the Irish in his first few weeks of life and can’t wait to join his friends at a tailgate soon. Jenna and John Lytle welcomed their third child, True Anthony Lytle, on Aug. 27. Robin Sturgeon sent him his first postcard (from Greece!) and he already met Chris Grekowicz when he was in Houston. Michelle and Joe Alvarado continue to raise their four kids in the west suburbs of Chicago. Joe just became a licensed real estate broker to complement his property investment business, Alvarado Investments. Lastly, a bit of sad news, but if you haven’t heard, the one-year program will cease to exist after this school year. I hope everyone thinks of us as the MBA Class of 2013, but those of us who participated in it were grateful for the opportunity and really enjoyed the experience. Please send anything for the next set of notes to me by Jan. 18. — Nick Imgrund; 314-775-7364; daimgrund@yahoo.com
13JD Sad News
Our friend and classmate Robert Cross tragically passed away this summer. He left behind his wife, Kelley, daughter Olive and twins Lucas and Lylah. I will always remember Admitted Students Day, when so many of us came to campus and met each other for the first time. We were all in one of the Eck Hall classrooms, and for whatever reason we were going around the room and saying something unique about ourselves. Everyone had something suitably impressive and intimidating to say — starting their own nonprofits, volunteering with political campaigns, yadda yadda yadda. Then we get to this guy, who said, “My name is Robert Cross, and I caught a bull shark in Carolina last week, and I thought that was pretty cool.” Cross — a.k.a. “Bullshark” — was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Although we had only communicated a few times since graduation, it was clear that he led a beautiful life centered on his family. Robert, we will miss you dearly and keep your family in our thoughts and prayers. Ana-Paola “AP” Capaldo-Aoun was profiled in Modern Counsel magazine. AP discussed her role as assistant general counsel at TD SYNNEX and how she’s juggled her legal career and her two boys. Congratulations, AP! Matt DiCianni was honored with a Rising Stars Award from the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, recognizing attorneys who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to ensuring access to justice for immigrants by devoting substantial time to pro bono work. Matt, a labor and employment associate at Cozen O’Connor, won asylum for a young mother and her son from El Salvador in a case that had spanned six years — a more important win than any by the ND football team this year. Congratulations, Matt! For all future updates, email Alex Blair at apblair@gmail.com. — Alex Blair; apblair@gmail.com
14 Kindness and Other Miracles
As I write this update in October, it’s been a rough couple of weeks around the world. We’ve seen violence, retribution, hatred and conflict — both new and old, and both domestically and internationally. There are not enough words to express the complexity of the heartbreak happening around the world right now, and certainly the words I write now are not enough. But I come to you with a message of love, a glimmer of hope, and some good things. Maybe that’s appropriate, seeing as you’ll read this update around the holiday season, several weeks after I write this. After all, this is the time of year for glimmers: for why else would we put up Christmas lights if not to show them off amidst the darkness of winter? Why else would we put up a Christmas tree if not to celebrate their evergreen nature? Why else would we light candles on our mantles and menorahs and kinaras, if not to symbolize our strength and resilience against the wind and cold of winter? These, like kindness, are the little miracles that we get to share in life, and my hope for you is that you get to experience, and you get to perform, kindness and other miracles this holiday season. Speaking of miracles, I have some amazing updates to share! First and foremost, please celebrate the three members of the 2023 Domer Dozen from the Class of 2014: Dr. Ansel Nalin, Bryan Dimas and Elizabeth Wood. Between pioneering cutting-edge cancer research, mentoring and developing Latinx filmmakers and storytellers, and guiding women and children through complicated immigration proceedings, these rock stars are a credit to both our Class and our University. Congratulations! Speaking of rock stars, a huge shout-out from Annie O’Brien for Emily (Arjani) Barnhart: Emily has recently passed the 10,000-hour mark in her postgraduate Student International Business Council advising, making her officially a Gladwell-approved expert. Congratulations, Emily, and thank you for your service to our students! I am also thrilled to announce that Rev. Beatrix Weil eloped with Adam Nelson on March 14. The happy couple lives in Memphis TN and were all smiles to announce their marriage. Congratulations, Beatrix and Adam! All smiles continue in the home of Krystal (Alvarez) Ceccio and John Ceccio ’19JD/MBA, who welcomed their son, Lorenzo Nicholas Ceccio, on July 7. Lorenzo is about as cute as they come, and we all welcome him to the Notre Dame family! Speaking of families, Wendy Hatch married Patrick Brunner ’13 on Sept. 9 in Minneapolis. Wendy would like to shout-out the Notre Dame Washington DC alumni club for connecting the dots between her and Patrick, and would also love to celebrate the ND family who stood by their side on their wedding day: Lauren Schmitt, Lindsey Forsberg, Ciara Dineen ’14, ’17JD, Megan Reineccius ’13, Delma Palma ’13 and Taylor Stein ’13. What a group! Congratulations, Wendy and Patrick! Finally, I am thrilled to announce that Brittany (Hark) Burson married Shaun Burson in Cleveland on Aug. 12. Even rain couldn’t stop the gorgeous couple from celebrating their love in the Land! Brittany would especially like to shout-out bridesmaid Malorie Thornton ’15 and the many other Notre Dame classmates and roommates in attendance at the wedding. What wonderful updates, everyone! Thank you for sharing your lives and your news with me. Keep the little miracles coming, and keep telling me about them! Until next time, lots of love. — Lizzie (Helpling) Trebbien; 513-470-9723; ehelplin@alumni.nd.edu
14MBA Class Secretary — Jessica Bonanno;
407-808-7148; jbonanno@alumni.nd.edu; Krick Cahill; 518-598-4222; kcahill1@alumni.nd.edu
14JD Class Secretary — Rachel Hanley;
rachelrhanley@gmail.com
15 Congratulations to All
Dylan Parent got engaged to Jack Yost ’13 in Italy. They were surrounded by friends both from ND and elsewhere. Becky (Jegier) and Ted Wagner welcomed their son Aidan Erich Wagner to the world on July 17. They are excited to cheer on ND football with him. Michael Judd married Lauren Wong in Lake Tahoe CA on July 29. Many of his O’Neill Hall MO’bsters were in attendance. Garrett Blad, Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu and Lizzie Heilmann were selected as 2023 Domer Dozen honorees. The Domer Dozen is a YoungND Board and Alumni Association initiative celebrating outstanding young alumni who have displayed extraordinary dedication to faith, service, learning or work. Garrett, Ihuoma, Lizzie and their fellow honorees were recognized in a series of events throughout the weekend of the Tennessee State football game. — Emily Flores; eflores2@alumni.nd.edu
15MBA Growing Families
Our MBA family is growing! Engagements, weddings, newborns. Our Class experienced all of it this summer, and we’re excited to welcome new members to our Irish family. Risha Kohli and Mike Koval are happy to announce their engagement. Mike and Risha met in Philadelphia and bonded early about their Notre Dame ties. Although Mike is a Villanova grad, his dad, Tim Koval ’83, attended Notre Dame for his law degree and Mike grew up a big-time Irish fan! The couple is excited to celebrate their wedding in Philadelphia, where they currently reside. Luke Smith is engaged to Megan Hsu ’15, another member of our Irish family and a rockstar who just finished her orthopedic program at Johns Hopkins. The couple came to my family farm in Brazil this summer and enjoyed some Lima hospitality. Brian Holz wedded Theresa this summer. Alex Gross, Alex Wolfe, Pat Covert and Kevin Kenefick were all there to celebrate this great day with Brian and Theresa. Danielle Silva-Pirrfman and Scotti Pirrfman welcomed their firstborn, Ruby, in July. She is a cutie with a full head of auburn hair. Jourdan Reinhart and her husband, Alex, welcomed not one, but two babies this fall. The twins, Forrest James and Eleanore Wren, were born in October and will soon be joining mom and dad on their CA adventures. Kimberly Greenberg and her husband, Mike, welcomed me to their home in Portland this summer, where I had the joy of meeting their little one, Aurora, who is all smiles. It’ll be great to plan a game watch next year and bring all these new faces together. Please drop me a line if you’d like to participate in the planning. Wishing you all a fantastic holiday season! — Valeriano Lima; val@meridianx.com
15JD Class Secretary— Alisa Finelli Murphy;
alisafinelli@gmail.com
16 In Our PLACT Era
Classmates, you make the whole place shimmer! Jeff Agar started a new position as head of media at Legoland North America. Rohan Andresen works with Perkins Coie in Chicago and was named as a 2024 Best Lawyer: One to Watch. Victor Benavides PRed the Staten Island half. Rachel Biscocho serves as the new East regional director for young alumni. She works for Stuyvesant HS Alumni Association as senior director of development, alumni relations and communications. Lily Crawford is a consultant with BCG specializing in tech and digital for health care; she spoke at the Women in Tech Conference about her career journey from ND to China to PA. Marissa (Bowman) Evans earned her Ph.D.; she and husband Dan moved to St Paul MN where she works as a staff psychologist at the VA. Alexis (Olsen) Forte is the new director of auxiliary ops for young alumni and is based in Seattle with husband Brendan. The crowds and stands went wild when Quinn Gleason earned her first WTA title in Slovenia with partner Amina Anshba. Christina (Gutierrez) Grefenstette is the new Mid Atlantic regional director for young alumni. She and husband Jake live in Pittsburgh with daughter Lucia and labradoodle Frodo Waggins. I heard a rumor from Inez that Jack Guilfoile got a tattoo of Sam Hartman to celebrate the season. Patrick Hannon works as a project manager for D Stanley Dixon Architect; his Low Country restoration project was highlighted in the 10th anniversary edition of the Milieu Magazine. Elyse Hight PRed at the What’s Your Why half in WA; she placed first in her age group and third overall. David Katter PRed at the Boston Triathlon. Everyone including Allie Mosser just rediscovered the show Suits. Sarah Motter is back on campus as the rector of BP. Ashley Murphy received a National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Switzer Fellowship through the Administration for Community Living. Carolyn Murphy lived out her pastry dreams at the Big London Bake — and won third place! Her cake looked great; we won’t mention how she accidentally dropped it at the end. Romeo Okwara plays in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. Katherine Petrovich was recognized for her contributions to the surgery chapter of the USMLE Step 2 book. Cari Roccaro plays as a midfielder for the Chicago Red Stars and co-hosts her Butterfly Road podcast with Ginny McGowan ’18. She recently spoke at the White Sox Game Changers Summit on “Strengthening the Body and Mind in Sports Culture.” Alyssa Ruiz received her professional engineering license last year after a lot of hard work; she recently started a new job with the city of Austin as part of the Our Future 35 team, alongside Shannon Riley ’17. Have you ever laughed at one of Tommy Schneeman’s jokes? You’ll love alter ego Tommy Brennan. Catch him goofing around cities with comics like Kelsey Cook and Becky Robinson. Molly Seidel PRed in the Chicago Marathon and placed as second American and eighth overall female. Runner’s World featured a powerful story about Molly’s journey with her mental health; please give it a read. Two of Matthew Williams’ photos were accepted into the Fine Arts Exhibit at the 2023 CO State Fair. Meet Maia, the AI relationship AI assistant that Claire Wiley launched with co-founder Ralph Ma. Congratulations to Kyle Witzigman for being named to this year’s Domer Dozen. Kyle is a policy manager at Amazon Advertising and dedicates much of his free time to his DC Vietnamese community. Marry me, Juliet. Cheers to our engaged couples: Rohan Andresen and Zach Eklov, Kelsey Collett and David Gosz, Brie Curtis and Andrew Rogg, Michaela Dimoff and Joe Pautsch, Clare Donohue and Aidan Baldwin, Katie DuFour and Burke Smith, Lauren Hochstedler and Matt Greene, Rachel Hoversland and Jacob Miller, Ali Rae Hunt and Scott Copeland, Mary Jozwiak and Mike Favia, Jen Long and James Ross, Mel Ricker and Ben Bouche, Annie Scott and Kent Willett, Sarah Senseman and Matt Redmer, and Sherry Zhong and Drew Neils ’15. Love to these classmates and their recent white veil occasions: Franny Alston and Ryan Wiegand, Kendra Anderson and Kevin Muschar, Haley Bonneval and Matt Parker, Danielle Butler and Hadley McClure — their flower girl was sweet Sienna, daughter of Kate (Everett) and Dale Lobo, Abby Davis and Jobin Kalathil, Regina Engel and Chris Mergenthaler, Rachel Francis ’17 and Steven Goicoechea, Lizzie Gibbs and Sean Hynes ’15, Anna Grainger and Cooper Cohen, Haley Hoyle and Taylor Anderson, Mary Hunter and Oren Hillel, Mary Kate Irving and Seamus MacDougall in Scotland, Audrey Kelley and Dave Spedding, Kelly Laco and Ben Steinhafel, Perry Locke and Bobby Valek, Katharine Maheras and Riley Graham, Ashley Murphy and Andy Sutherland, Sarah Philo and Trey Sorrells, Ingrid Piovanetti and Ricky Jimenez, Madeleine Rogers and Jack Stiuso ’17, Juliana Salles and Mike Banach, Jamie Shea and Tom Hite, Casey Skevington and Justin Sorum, and Emily Sterbis and Jack Szigety. All our happiness to the parents in our class, cheers to your babes: Sydney (Golic) and Ben Braunecker, Lauren and Brian Davis, Kristin (Brennan) and Mark Frego ’15, Meghan and Jack Guilfoile, Mimi (Michuda) ’15 and Nick Herzog, Marisel (Wilbur) and Ted Kallergis, Abby (Swint) and Matt Kriha, Grace (Mazur) and Matt Lawton ’15 with twins, Madi (King) and Marc Prather with their third boy, Audrey (Kelley) and Dave Spedding, Emily (Horton) and Thayer Wade, Megan (McCuen) and Matt Witt, and Paige (Affinito) and TJ Veech. Thanks to Father Brian Florin for sharing his reflection in the FaithND newsletter. I’ll grab a pen and an old napkin and I’ll write down your news — reach out! XO — Bridget (Doyle) Hanle; bdoyle@alumni.nd.edu
16MBA Growing Families
Congratulations to our classmates who recently welcomed additions to their families! In August, Anna and Wes Taul welcomed baby girl Monica. Monica’s big brothers, John (4) and James (2), love their little sister! In September, Fernanda Rivas and Emile Saad welcomed baby girl Maya. Maya’s big brothers, Mateo (4) and Luca (2), are taking great care of her! — Claire Kenney; ckenney2@alumni.nd.edu; Kelly Rubey; kelly.rubey@nd.edu
16JD Class Secretary – Mack Watson;
mack.watson@pm.me
17 A Winter Chill
The fall brought football and new Irish fans. We would like to welcome all the new babies born to Stephanie (Burton) and Brent Jordan; Leah (Walsh) ’17SMC and Joe Soisson; Kianna (Eurick) and Jacob Bering; Courtney (Sampson) and Areyan Gonzales-Stocks ’18; Madison Rohlfs and Kevin Schmitt; Kayla (Matthews) and Jimmy Kemper; and Suzannah Muthoot and Deepak Koshy. Fans also come by way of marriage. Congratulations to all who tied the knot: Noemi Ventilla and Lassi Tuominen; Emily Corrigan and Jack Barbe; Mary Kate Palmer and Alec Burgman; Susie Baca and Peter Cogan; Courtney Lefevre and Matt Sturgeon; Elizabeth House and Hugo Muñoz Rios; Sarah Koop and Christopher Melillo; Lauren Petrick and Ben Woodley; Kristen Zavertnik and Nate McKeon; Kathleen Dooley and Krys Mihulka; Anna Baumhoer and Harrison Solis; Ariel Navotas and Drew Martin; Audrey Rose and Josiah Conley; Margaret Cross and Dan Lipka ’16; Margaux Collins and Nichola Becker; Erika Neuhaus and Matt Angulo; Megan Parisi and Jack Winke; Alexa DeSantis and Matt Dickman; Caroline Larsen and James Sigman; Emily Woidat and Morgan D’Arcy; Casey Baker and Kyle Middleton; Mary Cate Watkins and Jason Maney; Gretchen Bruggeman and Daniel Hays; and Kinga Fluder and Jon Rydburg. And to those who will soon tie the knot: Tori Konrad and Jack Markwalter; Maddie Oeff and Philip Rooney; Dana McLain and Matt Bradley; Maggie Arriola and Conal Fagan ’21; Amanda Janouch and Nick Caporale; Annalisa Chesser and Bryan Christopher; Elizabeth Fenton and Alex Jordan; Alexis Doyle and Ford Wyatt; Kathleen Wartman and Alec Dietzel; and Megan Fitzgerald and Rory Quigley. Our classmates have been on the move in their careers: Molly Barry is a senior research project manager at Rescue; Victoria Johnston is the CTO and co-founder of Little Atlas; Joe Kuhns is a junior copywriter at Planet Propaganda; Amanda Conklin is a vice president at Bain Capital; Kristen Loehle is a senior associate brand manager at Danone; Briana Nguyen is a senior manager, FP&A at GitLab; Tim Crowe started emergency medicine residency; Juan Borges is a senior associate, transaction services at Baker Tilly US; Ruth Cooper was promoted to program officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Rose Bernier is principal at Wood Mackenzie; Jack Carey is a development associate at Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate; Nicholas Pettegrew is a director, plant manager at Ruggable; Mary Kate (Palmer) Burgman is a senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton; Michaella (Wright) Dow is the global lead, Medical and Scientific Affairs Program Management Office at Olympus Americas; Brittany Harrington LeBlanc is a solutions engineer at Atlassian; Elizabeth (Feeley) O’Connor is a business unit manager at Calspant; Kristen Ochs is a senior quality systems specialist at Forge Biologics; Paul Rudnicki started his postdoc in the Energy Conversion Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Matt Barratt is a financial operating associate at Graham Partners; Joe Wood is a project leader at BCG; Isabel Cabezas is the PR, communications, events trainee at the Civil Society Outreach Unit at European Parliament; Liam Finnegan is a project leader at BCG; Maeve Donovan rang the NYSE closing bell in her capacity as applications product marketing manager at Snowflake; Madeline Thompson is an IP litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis; and Christine Clark started at Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP. Two of our classmates were recognized as a part of this year’s Domer Dozen: Margaret (McDevitt) McMahon and Lt. Walker Embrey. This update was made possible by input from Clare (Geraghty) Henne, Zach Bequette, Katelyn Wray and social media. If you have an accomplishment, announcement or something else you would like to say, please send it to — Celanire Flagg; cflagg@alumni.nd.edu
17MBA Baby Boys
Hello to all of my friends from the 2017 MBA class. It brings me great joy to share that a few future Domers have joined our family. Andy Burrow and his wife, Sara, welcomed a little boy, George Werner, on July 13 at 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Mike Weppler and his wife, Carolina, also welcomed a little boy named Caleb on July 4. Matt Dudevoir shared with me that he and his wife, Amber, recently moved to Tampa, where he has accepted an assignment as chief of operations at the United States Special Operations Command. Their guest room is open to any Mendoza grad interested in visiting FL for a weekend. It is always so fun to hear from all of you — please continue to send me any and all life updates. Cheers to the Class of 2017 MBA. — Mary Tomasik; mtomasik@alumni.nd.edu
17JD Class Secretary — Lauren (Nottoli) Schwabe;
laurennottoli@gmail.com
18 Sharing Milestones
It’s been a busy few months for the Class of 2018 — we reconnected with old friends on campus last June and on fall Saturdays, bid farewell to Fisher and Pangborn, and traveled to Dublin to watch Sam Hartman wow us with downfield TD passes. Brynn and Daniel Padilla ’19 welcomed their first child, Matthew Reece, in July. They hope he’ll be a future Domer in 2045. Kathrine (Fetizanan) and Brett Robertson welcomed their daughter, Philomena JoAnn “PJ” Robertson, at 12:14 a.m. Aug. 2. Bridget and Patrick Koehr welcomed their third son, Louis, on April 18. Patrick is currently deployed in Japan until April with the VP-5 Mad Foxes. Margaret Crawford and Tyler Belin were married in September in Savannah GA. Courtney Koch ’18, ’19 and Joe Newhall were married in July in Raleigh. They enjoyed a wedding day full of happy tears, donuts and reminiscing on the day they met in the basement of Breen-Philips Hall. Nick Courtney married Katrina Gallic on June 23 in Washington DC. Monica Ochoa Porter and George Porter celebrated their first anniversary this year. Susan Zhu got engaged to Ben Mallicoat in June. Matt Dodig began pursuing his MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In January 2023, Mary Prebys started working for the Notre Dame Alumni Association. Maura (Vrabel) Brown finished her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at UNC/NCSU in the fall and will be starting as a consultant at the RDU office of Boston Consulting Group in 2024. She and her husband are also expecting their first baby in December. After four and a half years teaching in Los Angeles Catholic schools, Bill Adler has decided to pivot careers. He has decided to pursue his JD at the U of San Diego, in order to begin a career as an education attorney. Nicholas Furnari joined the YoungND Board as the Midwest regional director and asks that you reach out with any ideas for future gatherings. Congratulations to two of our classmates who were selected as 2023 Domer Dozen honorees. The Domer Dozen is a YoungND Board and Alumni Association initiative celebrating young alumni who have displayed extraordinary dedication to faith, service, learning or work. Honorees were recognized during events throughout the weekend of the Tennessee State game. Ashley Kyalwazi is a current dual medical and master’s in public policy student at Harvard where she leads national studies as a Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Fellow. In this role, she explores the intersection of health policy, health equity and cardiovascular outcomes for historically marginalized populations. In addition, she was named a Gleitsman Leadership Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and also founded the MV3 Foundation. As a physician, she intends to also serve as a policymaker and social entrepreneur to advocate for marginalized populations. Melissa Riordan earned her master’s degree in international security at Georgetown U’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. She was then selected for the US Department of Defense’s John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellowship, a one-year civilian assignment designed to provide leadership development for the commencement of a career track toward senior leadership within the DoD. In this role, she works for the Department of the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence as a strategic planner. Each semester, she continues mentoring ND students in both SIBC and the Washington program. Cheers to you, Class of 2018, for another incredible year being a force for good in our world. May you and your loved ones have a happy, healthy and safe Christmas and holiday season and a successful New Year. Go Irish! — Matthew Peters; mgpeters96@gmail.com
18MBA Class Secretary — Patrick McHail;
pmchail@alumni.nd.edu
19 Paths to Success
Greetings, Class of 2019! As we look back at the past couple of months, it is important to celebrate all that we continue to accomplish in our time away from campus. As we venture further from our days on campus as undergraduates, our stories have branched out, and in some cases come together, to paint a picture of success, professional excellence, dedication and love. In the realm of love, Aileen Markovit and Ben Auwaerter tied the knot on Aug. 12, and Kristin Benedict and Braeden Benedict exchanged vows on June 10. We wish them both the best in their futures together, knowing that they have found their perfect partners in one another as they move forward in life’s grand adventure. Last but not least, love continues to be in the fall air in 2023 as Sarah Marturano and Luke Dawahare recently got engaged on Oct. 7. On the path to professional success, Gates McGavick has embarked on a new journey as a legal communications director and spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, while Corey Gayheart takes the helm as the director of communications and marketing for the International School of Texas in Austin. Pam Udoye recently took a role with Google in NYC and has moved back to Philly to continue her career as an account strategist. Raphael Jafri, who continues to lead the cutting edge of AI development and engineering, is currently overseeing innovative machine learning solutions at Labelbox. Utilizing data to drive progress and success in a global landscape, Raphael’s impact extends beyond Labelbox; he provides valuable consultations to various companies and our very own alma mater, offering his expertise in the rapidly developing field of AI. His contributions stand as a testament to the depth of knowledge and dedication Notre Dame graduates bring to the world. In the realm of health care and education, we want to wish Claire Turgeon good luck as she recently matched as a resident physician. We are elated that she has found a home at the top school for psychiatry at Northwestern’s Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. But, we also love that she will be close enough to come take in a few game days back in South Bend during her time there as well. Staying in the Chicago area, Kelly Wentland and Brianna Hoelting ran the Chicago Marathon this year, showcasing their drive and perseverance to go big and chase their goals for the year. The Class of 2019 shines in their diverse pursuits, a testament to the strength and success of Notre Dame graduates. Congratulations to each member of our remarkable Class! If you would like to see your accomplishments (or recommend someone you know) in the next update, please make sure to reach out to our email! — Michael Conlon, Dan Hopkinson, Jane Driano, and Eddie Griesedieck; notredameclass19@gmail.com
19JD A Busy Winter
Many of our classmates have taken new positions in new places. Alyssa Slaimen is now counsel to US Senator Peter Welch of VT after working for the president of Palau. John Bruno is now at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig in Charlotte NC. Thomas Spring is on his way to Atlanta as a litigation associate at Eversheds Sutherland. Michelle Molner is now at Baker Botts as an associate in cybersecurity and privacy. Cristina Sanchez is now corporate counsel at Fresh Del Monte in Miami. I hope everyone is enjoying their new jobs! Many of our classmates have celebrated weddings recently! Kristine Baker and Adam Baginski are now married after a gorgeous celebration in MI. Scott Stevenson is now engaged to Victoria Isabel. Shaina Lumish and David Chang ’20 married in a classic CA festivity. Brigid Reardon is now married to Steve Healy after their party in CT. Matt Gerald married Emily Grau in a beautiful ceremony on Georgetown U’s campus. Congratulations to all of the happy couples! Please email me at miller.a.katherine@gmail.com if you have anything you would like me to put in our next Class Notes! — Katherine Miller; miller.a.katherine@gmail.com