1990s

90 From the Halls of Farley
Michele Feick Ryan reports that she is in her fifth year at Cooper Lighting, where she is a channel director. In her role, she works with electrical distributors that are part of an industry buying group. Michele and her husband, Tom Ryan ’87, have had fun following the Irish around the globe. In the last year they traveled to Paris to see the ND women’s basketball team open the season. When the game was announced, it fell on their 30th wedding anniversary so they knew they had to go. They have also been to games in College Station and back at ND, and plan to see the ladies play in Miami in the new year. Michele recently joined the Reunion committee and looks forward to seeing our Class back on campus for our 35th Reunion May 29 - June 1, 2025. When COVID canceled our last Reunion, Michele started a new tradition with Ed Veome. They meet once a year at Ed’s Lake Michigan house to reminisce about their fun times going through the biology program together. For the past 15 years, Ed has worked for Coloplast where he currently is VP of sales. Beth (Apone) Sienkiewicz reports that she is the executive director of communications and public affairs for the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in NJ. She and her family reside in Bethlehem PA. Her daughter Sarah Salamon (dad is Jeff Salamon) works in public relations for the U of Pittsburgh, and her other daughter Emily works in media relations in Washington DC after interning with Apple in CA. Mary Brown checked in from Seattle where she has lived for the past 34 years. She landed in Seattle after ND to earn her 1992 MSW degree from the U of Washington. Since 2010, Mary has been working for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington as the executive AA and director of corporate office operations. Mary’s unofficial second career is being a superfan for the Everett Silvertips, a major junior team in the Western Hockey League of the Canadian Hockey League. She enjoys following their games with frequent trips to Canada. Please visit reunion.nd.edu and register soon for our Reunion. Join our classmates back on campus for fun and camaraderie. Once again, our Class will be hosting a tent with music, food and beverages. If you’d like to join the planning committee or help on-site at Reunion, please reach out to Chris Paul at chris.paul@nokia.com. Additionally, we will be starting the “1990 Classmate Fund” to assist our classmates who are in need of financial assistance in attending Reunion. If you are interested in learning more about the fund or making a donation, please reach out to Class President Patrick Olmstead at polmstead@patrickolmsteadlaw.com. Please keep track of us on Facebook at Notre Dame Irish Class of 1990 and at 1990.undclass.org. Go Irish! — Marty Falkenberg; 23 Casselton Road, Raymond ME 04071; 847-323-4717; martin.falkenberg@yahoo.com

 

90MBA Storm Damage
My thoughts and prayers go out to classmates, fellow alumni and their families who were impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton. Living on what was a serene mountain lake in Western NC near Asheville, I’ve seen up-close the chaos and devastation that these storms caused. While we sustained some damage and lost power/water for over a week, we feel very blessed that it wasn’t any worse as we see homes just a few miles away flooded or washed away. Please pray for those impacted and support relief efforts as it will take years for many communities to recover from these storms. Bob Hersh writes that, after spending the last 14 years in various leadership roles as a partner at Grant Thornton, he has retired. Congratulations! His last position was as manufacturing industry lead partner and board member at the National Association of Manufacturers, capping a 38-year career in consulting. Bob and his wife, Denise, have been together for 24 years and have two daughters and two grandsons. He and Denise are starting to travel and play golf together, and Bob is rediscovering his love of photography. He currently is on the advisory board for the UConn Management and Engineering for Manufacturing program. Angelo Loumbas is the senior Family Office Resources specialist with Morgan Stanley, having worked for the company in both Chicago and now NY for over 12 years. He works with only the firm’s wealthiest clients (guess that’s why I work with someone else at Morgan Stanley) and their financial advisers on matters related to family governance, business succession, philanthropy and estate and tax planning. Angelo is married to Elaine Zacharakis ’94JD and they have two children: John Anthony, a junior at James Madison U in Harrisonburg VA, and Demi, a freshman at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg VA. Jeff Anglin spent the last 22 years at Medtronic leading their customer experience organization and lives in Southern CA. Jeff and his wife, Jamie, recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary (congratulations!) and he says that all their kids are out of college and doing well — two live nearby and two in Chicago. Jeff is proud that two of his kids are Domers — one married to a Domer, one engaged to one. In addition to supporting the Irish, Jeff supports TCU and the U of Wisconsin. Jeff is still holding his own on the tennis court, playing at least three times a week, and spending family time at Lake Tahoe. Suzette Allaire writes that she has four kids, ages 23 to 31, with her first grandchild born this past summer! She has been married to her college sweetheart for 34 years, lives in the Twin Cities and opened a weekend coffee shop two years ago in WI. Suzette looks back fondly on her time at ND, learning a lot from the professors and her colleagues, and is grateful for the experience. Rebecca and Bruce Montgomery are living in VA and write that their son Trey had a second child, Tilly, born in August. Tilly joins brother Fritz, age 2. Bob Clarkin has been leading one of Wipro Management Consulting’s divisions but recently decided to take a break and step down to determine what is next for him. We wish you the best, Bob, as you look to the future. Thank you to my buddy Craig Thompson for helping gather many of these updates. If you’re reading this and have not sent an update recently, please take a few minutes and send me a quick update because inquiring minds want to know! Have a safe and healthy New Year. — Jim Rogers; 1825 SouthPointe Dr., Morganton NC 28655; 336-413-2569; domer8490@gmail.com

 

90JD 35 Years, Really?
Another year goes by and here we are looking forward to our 35th reunion. I’m hoping to see many of you back on campus next fall to celebrate. More news is to come from the Law School about the timing of homecoming. Let’s see if we can get a group together that weekend or for one of the other game weekends. Some of us are also ringing in a new decade around this time. Hope the big 6-0 is treating you well and that you’re staying true to the Class of ’90 character by keeping things fun. Be well and please drop a note to let me know how you’re doing! — Cathy (Pollock) Gregory; cagregory.home@gmail.com

 

91 Class Secretary — Suzi (Criqui) Mueller;
suzi@cbglobalsearch.com

 

91MBA We Have a Two-Time Author!
Daniel Maus reports that his daughter Nora ’20, ’24MEd earned her MEd through ND’s Alliance for Catholic Education. Nora is now in the master’s in counseling program at Loyola U of New Orleans while working on campus as community director. Daniel also said Ray Suerth still rocks. Their families spent time together on campus on the weekend of the Northern Illinois game. John Abbate and his wife, Kaaren, live in San Luis Obispo CA. They have three children: Matthew, Kathryn and Andrew. John has a new book coming Jan. 14: Beyond the Arches: Uncovering the Power of Vocation and Virtue to Achieve Excellence. What can a career at McDonald’s teach about success? Beyond what you could imagine! Drawing from decades of experience leading thousands of team members, John examines the critical challenges facing modern institutions, such as workforce disengagement, mental health issues and the substantial impact of social media on contemporary cultural dynamics. With unwavering optimism, he proposes a new approach grounded in the timeless virtues of beauty, truth and goodness. His previous book, Invest Yourself: Daring to be Catholic in Today’s Business World, encourages readers to integrate their faith with their professional lives and offers a compelling vision of how Christian values can shape ethical leadership and corporate culture. Both books are available on Amazon and all other major online book retail sites. Tom Livingston was back on campus for the Louisville game for the first time since Florida State in 1992! He met up with friends from high school and undergrad. Nina Gramaglia met up with Becca and Susan for an impromptu trip to Naples last December. Send updates to — Patty (Spiekermann) Lynch; pattylynch05@gmail.com

 

91JD Class Secretary — Martha (Boesen) Trout;
12823 Clark St., Clive IA 50325; 515-249-9235; marthatrout@gmail.com

 

92 Seasons of Change
Proof it’s never too late to start! Julie (Robertson) Bliven took up the sport of powerlifting at 54 and set MT state records in her weight/age class in February for the US Powerlifting Association. In early October, Timothy Deenihan did three mountain marathons in three days. All were over 26.2, so total mileage was 83-plus miles. Elevation gain/loss was 13,000. I would be excited to run 3 miles in one day! Rob Hayes was elected mayor of Avon NY in 2024. Laura (Mollach) and Chris Soller traveled Ireland with some of the Holy Cross crew in September. On the adventure were Alexis and Buddy Leo, Jennifer and Sean McCarthy, and Julie and Kevin McGee. Colin Fleming sent word he was working toward his Salesforce Admin technical certification. He got married in ’21 and has a stepdaughter, three stepsons and two step-grandkids. Jon Lunardini completed his three-year term on the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, a congressionally mandated committee that presents an annual report to Congress with recommendations on IRS operations. We have some kids on campus with Class of ’28: Joseph Dimberio’s daughter Abby is in Lyons; Matthew Hanley’s daughter Brittan is in Flaherty; and Suzanne (Schaffler) ’93SMC and Dan Bautch’s son Austin is also a first-year. They ran into Libby (Costello) Amaris and her daughter Anna during freshman orientation. Also on campus: Marty Demmings’ daughter is a sophomore in Lewis. Gretchen Ariz sent word that she retired June 28 after 12 years in refractive surgery at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK. Gretchen and Raine moved to Madeira Island, Portugal, in September. From subarctic to subtropical living! Last July Mike Connor and John Asher got together in KS prior to Ragbrai 50, the 500-mile bike ride across IA. They were RAs in Grace and had not seen each other in 32 years. When they met up in the KC airport they were sporting identical ND hats. Some things don’t change with time. John’s son Stefan is a freshman in Morrissey. Michelle and Todd Vician celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by taking their two sons to the Miami (OH) game. It was the boys’ first game on campus. They ran into Katie (Smith) Lembas at the stadium. John Gugle and Brent Phelan attended the A&M game and stopped by the tailgate of Nora (Purtell) and Dave Bose. On April 28, Jason Alcala’s daughter Alexandra graduated from U of Pitt. Also in April, his second daughter, Willow (who was born Jason Rudy Alcala JR), passed away at the age of 19. Condolences to their family and the families of these classmates who died: Lauren Marie Aquino of Brant Beach NJ passed away July 6 after a long illness. Mary (Toczylowski) McGillicuddy shared that her Knott Hall roommate Sally Stevenson passed away Aug. 8 after an extended illness. She was interred Oct. 19 at Cedar Grove Cemetery next to campus. John “JD” Donohoe passed away Sept. 28 while traveling in Ireland. Mike Ferguson attended Delbarton with JD and was one of a dozen or so Domers at JD’s wake and funeral held at St. Mary’s Abbey at Delbarton School. Mike’s son Joseph is a sophomore in Sorin. His son Jack Ferguson ’20, ’24JD and wife Caitlin (Fennelly) Ferguson ’21, U Chicago Law ’24, had a baby boy (Mike’s first grandchild) on July 30. Jack and Caitlin are both clerking in Cincinnati on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mike is now at AT&T leading the Federal Relations team in DC. He and Maureen also serve on the executive advisory board for the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at ND. Check out my.nd.edu to update your contact info. Please send a scoop! — Jill-Beth “JB” Hayes; ndclassof92@gmail.com

 

92MBA Class Secretary — Julie Pendell;
pendell.julie@gmail.com

 

92JD Class Secretary — Paul A. Drey;
6701 Westown Parkway, Suite 100, West Des Moines IA 50266; bus 515-271-1765; paul.drey@brickgentrylaw.com

 

93 Architecture 30th Reunion
Our Class of ’94 Arkies held their reunion over the July 26 - 28 weekend (everyone herein is ’94 Arkie unless specified otherwise). Nicole (Egan) Ducar hosted with husband John Ducar ’93Arch and Stephanie (Steindorf) Tolentino. In Chicago Nicole works with her own residential firm of Ducar Associates Architects; John approaches 13 years with the architecture firm SCB. They have 13-year-old twin boys. Chi-town was the perfect backdrop to a fabulous weekend with brunch and dinner gatherings, a picnic lunch at Lincoln Park Zoo, a White Sox night game, kayaking on the Chicago River and a beautiful evening BBQ on the rooftop home of Chris Connery ’91, husband of late Heidi (Galles) Connery. Chris said Heidi’s parents love seeing Heidi and her friends in our notes so they can keep tabs on them, so hello to Heidi’s parents! After 22 years in Atlanta, David Colgan moved to the FL panhandle in ’21 with wife Tyler and their two teenage girls, Elizabeth and Caroline. David is with the firm he joined after graduation, moving from employee to partner at Merrill Pastor and Colgan Architects. Kim Smith has had her own firm in Chicago and Oak Park IL since 2006. She and wife Liz Ragen ’95 married in January 2007 in the courtroom of friend Federal Justice John Robert Blakey ’88, ’92JD, who is married to Christina Saracino Blakey ’94, who was Liz’s roomie in the ’92-’93 Spain program. Kim and Liz have 16-year-old twins, Tegan and Liam, and Timmy, 13. Holly (Mizelle) Johnson lives in Atlanta, where she celebrated three years of owning a residential architecture firm, Carriage House Studio LLC, with her two female partners. Holly and her husband, Derrick Johnson ’91, have two kids: Hannah, a junior at Wake Forest U, and Zane, a high school senior. Holly has served on the advisory council for the School of Architecture for 25 years! Andrew Howard’s focus is architecture design in higher ed and K-12. He and his wife of 28 years, Catherine “Katie” (Nickels) Howard ’96, live in East Grand Rapids MI. Their two daughters graduated college. Emma teaches third grade and Julia, with her master’s, is a social worker. A licensed architect, Andrew served on the boards of AIA and West Michigan Youth Ballet; he is currently a zoning commissioner. Katie earned a degree in clinical lab science from Grand Valley U then worked in microbiology for Spectrum. MJ (Dingle) Wojewodzki works at Quinn Evans Architects, where she’s having a great time leading an 900,000-plus-square-foot renovation/ addition to a landmark federal building on the mall in DC. It’s definitely her most ambitious project to date! Katie Norian Loosian has spent the past 25 years in Arlington MA, a Boston suburb, with husband Brett, a U Mass grad. They have three sons: a high school junior and twins who graduated college in ’23. Katie oversees campus planning and design projects at Harvard Business School. After ND Colleen Ho ’93 moved to NYC to study painting at Pratt Institute of Art. In fall ’24, Colleen, a visual artist, had a solo exhibition of her drawings in Brooklyn. Check out Colleen’s art on theshirleyprojectspace.com. Clarke Rogers, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel as of May ’22, enjoys retirement in NC with his wife, Jill. Their “Twin Turbos,” Jan and Libby, are seniors at Western Carolina U and were first responders for Hurricane Helene and helped save many lives in the aftermath. Well-wishes go to Jill as she recovers from a spontaneous pneumothorax in her right lung. Michelle (Devers) ’93 and Jeffery Mazurek have lived in Seattle since ’94, aside from a brief stay in upstate NY when Michelle went to grad school. They have two amazing kids, Erin, 23, and Sage, 21, and are adjusting to being empty nesters. Jeff has his own residential architecture practice; Michelle works for Amazon, leading a team that designs new features for Alexa. John Cluver is senior partner and director of preservation at Voith & Mactavish Architects in Philly, where he’s worked since ND. John lives two miles from his parents and one mile from his in-laws, so he and wife Michelle never had to pay for babysitting! Jennifer McDougall Watt lives in Seattle with husband David and daughters Meghan and Keira. She is a senior associate at the architecture firm GGLO, where she’s been for over 25 years. Also at the reunion: Carol Quigley; Carolyn (Graves) Jones; Martin van Koolbergen; David Heit; Joe Roberts ’95Arch; Janet (Knight) Rauschenberger ’94; and Jill (Naughton) ’93 and Dave Sullivan ’93. — Anne Marie (Krauza) Yuhas; 623-606-7000; yuhas93@gmail.com

 

93MBA 30 Years of Information
I love receiving updates from all of you. (If you have not sent one to me, please do. We all enjoy reading what each other is doing, especially since it has been 31 years since graduation.) I received a couple of updates. Trish Dolese was on campus in September for the Church Properties conference. Margret (Conley) Behlow drove down from Chicago to visit Trish. They had a lovely fall day on campus. They borrowed bikes from the Morris Inn and took a spin around campus! Randy Holler reminded me that he was the oldest member of our Class in 1993. He retired in 2020. After retirement, he and his wife, Patti, moved to their lake condo an hour south of the ND campus. He said their son and daughter are doing well and, like him, both went back to school in their 30s to get more advanced degrees in their chosen fields. Their son will have his MBA from Purdue soon at the age of 39. At this point in October, they have grandchildren in various stages of life and five great-grandchildren. They see Paul Wesley every year when he comes out to a game. He seems healthy and happy. He retired, but the school where he taught has enticed him back for a new position. Randy and Patti celebrated their 40th anniversary in April and took a cruise on the Danube River, which they really enjoyed. He and his wife play golf four times per week. His wife is very talented. Her Oldsmobile Scramble team won the women’s national championship the final year it was played! They go to Myrtle Beach SC for the winter and play golf there a couple times per week as well. Thank you, Randy, for this fun update!! Please email me with any updates and Christmas cards you may be sending. My next deadline is Jan. 20. I pray that you all stay healthy and happy. — Tricia Hug Schorr; 317-987-5000; thugschorr@yahoo.com

 

93JD We Came Home
This quarter was marked with returns to South Bend, both football-related and non-football-related. In August, Grant Brenna returned to South Bend for the first time since graduation with his wife, Cindy, and oldest daughter, Tori. Grant reports that Kari (Swindell) Gallagher and her daughter Gracie provided him with a tour of the new and improved Law School facility, and he reconnected at the Morris Inn with Tom Dixon (who I hope regaled with the stories of his father’s involvement in the Charles Starkweather case of yore — a story I just learned in August) and Jamie O’Brien. In September, as part of her service as co-chair of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission, WA Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu and a colleague hosted United States Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson at a mentorship event for newer Washington judges of color. Our Class was well represented at the official Law School homecoming events on the weekend of Oct. 11-12. Ndidi (Opia) Massay served as a panelist at Friday evening’s BLSA panel discussion. At Saturday’s events, I was able to reconnect with Mary Beth (Welch) Andrews, John Baker, Erin Bartholomy, David Birks, Kathy (Quirk) Hegarty, Danielle (Johnston) Holmes, Rich McDermott, Jane Nagle and Bridget (Healy) Schoening. All are well, and much time was spent reminiscing as to the special place that Notre Dame is and the special group that the Class of ’93 is to each of us. John’s son Jack and my son Joe, both of whom are prospective applicants, were also in attendance and will no doubt benefit from the advice and offers of assistance they so generously received. We were privileged to meet current Saint Mary’s College sophomore Bridgit Hegarty. I was also fortunate enough to reconnect with Patty O’Hara ’74JD, our former dean of student affairs and Business Associations instructor, who summed up my post-graduation experiences with the wisdom of a true Notre Dame Lawyer — her observation that I’ve lived a good life post-graduation was accurate and will stay with me, and while I have no plans for it to end anytime soon, I thank you all for your role in it. Charley Hegarty reports that he is recently retired from the Wayne County (MI) Circuit Court where he served for just under 11 years. In March, he presided over an 18-day birth trauma trial resulting in a $120 million verdict. Charley remains in MI, has formed Hegarty Mediation LLC and is now serving as a mediator both in person and via Zoom. With the Irish in the NY area twice in the remainder of the season, I hope to be able to reconnect with classmates who will be in the area for those games. For those who won’t make it, please send your stories anyway. Notre Dame is family, and we want to hear from you. Stay well, God bless and Go Irish! — Joe DiRienzo; DiRienzo & DiRienzo, 116 Saint Paul St., Westfield NJ 07090; res 908-812-2765; bus 908-233-6700; jd1@dirienzo-law.com

 

94 News from 2024 to Start the New Year
Two former Cavanaugh Hall fourth-floor neighbors were reunited in CA wine country Sept. 29. Ryan Miller of Sacramento and Patrick Robinson of Manasquan NJ were joined by their significant others, Leah and Lauren, at Reprise Wines’ picturesque Moon Mountain Vineyard. After an ATV tour of the property, a walk through the cellars that were cut into volcanic rock, and, of course, a tasting, the quartet headed for the town of Sonoma, where they enjoyed another tasting at Three Sticks Wines in its historic adobe building that was coincidentally built in 1842. The brief but joyful reunion of old friends concluded with alfresco dinner at OSO, in the heart of town. Trey Dawson shares that 2024 marked the 15th anniversary of his formation of EHD Consulting, Trey’s LLC through which he has provided financial and accounting due diligence for mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Trey and his family of four visited the Cayman Islands this past June, and enjoyed swimming with the stingrays and various tropical fish in the the Barrier Reef and the Coral Gardens. They had to make a stop in Hell, too, of course. The Dawsons then took another family trip up to Harbor Springs MI in the first week of August where they have vacationed with Trey’s extended family every year. Trey reports he missed Reunion 2024 as his family was at the West Baden Springs hotel in French Lick IN celebrating his mom’s birthday, but he hopes to join us at Reunion 2029! Finally, Trey shares that his son, Grant, is a sophomore at the U of Dayton, and his daughter, Colette, is a senior at McNicholas High School, currently going through the college application process. Miami (OH), Dayton and ND are on the target list. Kate Corgel ’06 and Michael Somerville had their second child, Thomas James Somerville, on Sept. 9 (just a one-day difference from his sister, Emilia, who was born Sep. 10, 2022). Michael and his family live in NYC where Kate is a partner with PwC and Michael is a comedian. Jo Prout shares that she is in her third year at Duke Divinity School with an expected graduation in 2026. In addition to going back to school at 50, Jo is an ordained elder and a candidate for ministry in the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Protestant church, and has been involved with clinical pastoral education at Albany Medical Center last term, serving as a hospital chaplain. Jo’s husband, Roberto Flores ’92, is a civil engineer and is also very active in their church. Jo and Roberto have three children, with only their youngest, 15, still at home. They try to make it to the Grotto on campus once a year. Finally, it’s with heavy hearts that we ask you to keep the families of two classmates in your prayers. Maryann Kuss passed on July 23 and is survived by her husband, John. Matthew Kelly passed on Aug. 16 and leaves behind his wife, Tierney, and son, Matthew Kelly Jr. Please take some time to read the obituaries of Maryann and Matt to see and appreciate the great impact they made in their too-short time with us. Thanks for sending future updates to ndclass1994@yahoo.com! — Elizabeth Macor Groupp; elizabethgroupp@gmail.com; Matt Cannizzo; mcannizz@nd.edu

 

94MBA 30-Year Reunion Done!
So, as I start this column, I know that Shannon (Davis) Pezolt is very happy about the last column and her getting mentioned not once, not twice, but three times! I can’t promise more than one, maybe two in this column, although we did just have a great time together at the Georgia Tech game with Dan Pezolt, Pierre Nona and Matt Kavanaugh, plus a quick visit by our own Birmingham lawyer, Chris Zulanas. Jenner Davis and J. Matt Carr also attended our tailgate and the game. We had a very successful MBA 30-year reunion at the Miami (OH) game. Many, many thanks to John Prette (he was our king) and Elizabeth (Ix) Buccellato who did the lion’s share of planning and organizing. Also, thank you to Charles Oliva, Jenner Davis and Tom Buccellato for all of their efforts in getting this off the ground. The turnout was strong at both our Friday night dinner at Compton and our tailgate on Saturday, plus the after-parties at the Foundry on Eddy Street. Among those in attendance: Angela (Stavropoulos) Laurite and me, Elizabeth and Tom, Megan (Lee) and Dave Hilal, J. Matt Carr, Jenner Davis, Diana (Stratbucker) Cook, Scott Steiger, Mark Mildenberger, Phil Neri, Mark Lambert, Tom Reyes, Cam Johnson, Jeff Urban, Jon Langenfeld, Dan Renouard, Kevin Berch, Bob Crissman, Monika Gablowski, Andy Banton, Michal Fandel, Gretchen and Dan Brewer, Jackie (Manahan) and Tim Wilson, Julie (Ying) Sheng, Molly Hoyt (and I very much enjoyed having Molly and Julie sitting in front of me at the game, yelling in their ears!), Hiro Yamamoto, Christine Darby, Ruben Alvidrez, Jon Sharkey, Beth Bonczek, Marcos Pierson, Stephen Mucci (who was the only “three semester” in attendance) and Steve Dahle. I really hope I didn’t miss anybody! Thanks to everybody for coming. Pictures will be posted on to our MyND page, so be on the lookout. And as an added bonus for attending, I won’t call you out in this column for at least another year. A bunch of us were at the Louisville game the following weekend, including Mike D. Mulligan with his lovely wife, Katherine; Dave “Walbags” Pasquale and his family; Kathy (Hardiek) and Kevin “Dook” Dougherty; Pierre; Kavs; and Ann and Scott Frigon? Steiger, Bucce and Ix will also be meeting up with us in NJ for the Navy game Oct. 26. For the Virginia game in November, Dave “Martino” Pasquale, Kavs, Nonster, Pezolt and Doc will all be attending, along with me. Please let Angela and me know how you’re doing, please, especially if you didn’t attend the reunion. — Rodger Laurite; 678-644-0422; rodgerlaurite@hotmail.com

 

94JD Class Secretary — Doug Duncan;
pdouglasduncanjr@yahoo.com

 

95 30th Reunion
We will be celebrating our 30th Reunion May 29 - June 1, 2025! Planning is underway and it would be wonderful to have many classmates back on campus. Please register soon at reunion.nd.edu and email me if you’d be willing to help plan and promote our Class Reunion activities. I am saddened to share news that Colleen Rooney Bradley passed away June 20 in Wilmette IL. Please keep her family, especially husband Ryan and children Eliane, Ryan II and Leah, in your prayers. Melinda Balli reports that after eight years as chief litigation counsel for Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., she has accepted a role as general counsel for Camden Homes LLC and affiliates. She lives in Dallas with her son Jude, who turned 3 in November. Nick Galassi lives in Hinsdale IL with his wife, Kari. They have two boys at Notre Dame: Jack ’24 and Vinny, who is a junior in Morrissey. Their daughter, Evie, is a freshman at TCU. Aleks Mitrius recorded and released an album of solo piano music. He wrote that after his father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, he vowed to dive back into music. His dad is doing well and Aleks is glad he is around to watch this new journey. Visit aleksasmitrius.com to listen! Sean Cahill started his own concierge practice focused on primary care, preventive medicine, weight management, men’s health and longevity at 680 N. Lake Shore in Chicago (seancahillmd.com). He is accepting new patients and loves to take care of ND alumni. Michael Ortiz is the president of the Notre Dame Club of Southern CO and lives in Colorado Springs. His son Patrick is at Navy-enlisted Nuclear Power School in Charleston SC. His daughter Micaela is a leader at the Newman Center at the U of Colorado at Colorado Springs. His wife, Jennifer, is a kindergarten teacher’s assistant. Kristin (Drnevich) Agostino shares that after a nearly 30-year career in accounting, she is taking a sabbatical and working on a master’s in taxation from the U of Cincinnati. Tony Leonardo is working on a documentary film about the past, present and future of Ultimate Frisbee. Tony founded the ND Ultimate Frisbee team in 1991 and was in South Bend last spring for the 32nd annual reunion of the Notre Dame Ultimate Club, which drew more than 150 and was held at the old Marriott downtown. His son, Soren Tischler-Leonardo, recently turned 10 and may one day join his father, aunt, great-uncle and grandfather in attending ND. John Moran has been living in New York City since graduation. He is married with three children and works in the renewable energy industry. He shares that he has been going to Puerto Rico the last three years with a nonprofit called Let’s Share the Sun, started by Bill Jordan ’85. ND Energy sends about 12 students every year as well. They install solar panels and batteries for families that need energy resilience due to health needs/equipment. Anyone who wants to get involved, let me know. Donna Snider joined Hackensack Meridian Health in NJ as their first-ever chief investment officer in 2020 and successfully built an in-house investment office. Donna is settled in NJ with her husband, Thom, and children, Charlie, 14, and Mary, 12. Brooke (Brandes) Warren shared that she serves on the board of the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a therapy or cure for CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease), which has affected both her daughters and late husband, Phil. She has a busy life with Reagan, 15, and Charlotte, 5. She enjoys endurance athletics and is (too) dedicated to her Peloton running and cycling community. Thank you for sharing all the wonderful updates. Go Irish! — Molly Donius Boscarino; 745 LeBrun Road, Amherst NY 14226; 412-304-8469; mdboscarino@alumni.nd.edu

 

95MBA Class Secretary — Renee Werner;
134 Willow Blvd., Willow Springs IL 60480; 773-528-3929; renee.werner@alumni.nd.edu

 

95JD Accolades
Brian Butler of Louisville KY was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers at the fall meeting in Nashville TN. Patrick Smith co-founded a wealth management firm, Bearing Point Capital LLC, based in Bloomington MN. They work with many estate/tax planning attorneys in the ultra-high net worth space. Enjoy the fall! Please send your news to — Julia (Schroeder) Meister; meister@taftlaw.com

 

96 Empty Inbox
This column will be short and sweet, as I didn’t receive any updates this quarter. Please feel free to email me with any news about you or our classmates. Thanks and I hope you’re all doing well. — Kate Crisham; catherine.crisham@usdoj.gov

 

96MBA Class Secretary — Maureen Maher;
ndmba96news@hotmail.com

 

96JD Mini-Reunion Football
Over a dozen classmates met up for the Notre Dame vs. Stanford football game Oct. 12. The “official attendees” in our Class block included Jill (Pignotti) Cheskes, Meighan Harmon, Don Held, Jennifer and Steve Hieatt, Jeff Kopp, Rosi Lozada, Eleni and Luka Misetic, Maria Mucha, Maureen Mulholland, Ed Perdue, Cathy (White) Schmidt, Joy Smith and Chris Spataro. Many in the group gathered before the game at the Hieatt Condo for the grand opening of “The Legal Beagle,” the decked-out garage with large-screen TV and all the amenities needed for an amazing tailgate. Props to Greg Shaffer for coming up with this name back in 1993-94, when students were encouraged to submit names for the Law School lounge lunch area. (The lunch area was eventually named The Irish Café, much to the disappointment of Three’s Company fans everywhere). It only took 30 years, but The Legal Beagle finally got its name hung on a wall! If you have any personal or professional updates, please be sure to send them to — Christopher J. Spataro; 57027 Wedgefield Court, Elkhart IN 46516; chrisjspataro@gmail.com

 

97 Back from Brazil
After 11 years in Brazil, Pat Gorman recently moved his family back to the US, specifically Austin TX as his child wanted to study in the States. He quickly made the school’s soccer team, which Pat believes had something to do with all the soccer he played in Rio de Janeiro as a kid. Pat wrote and published his first book, Recruit the Remarkable, as a guide for first-time founders on how to hire exceptional executives. Pat learned a lot about helping founders from his executive recruiting work in NY and São Paulo and decided to share those learnings. His thesis was simple: “Whoever taught a first-time founder how to hire their team?” and he set out to provide a how-to guide on that subject. He recently caught up with ND roommate Mike Ruhle in Boston where they had dinner and a few IPAs and a lot of laughs. Mike also came to visit him in Austin where he taught Pat that you cannot order lobster rolls outside of the summertime season. He and his family reside close to Boston. Pat continues to travel the world recruiting Brazilian executives to leave their comfort zones and join seed and Series A tech startups in Brazil. One such startup he helped hire executives is called Nubank and this startup has now become the world’s largest fintech (64 billion USD market cap) and was Sequoia Capital’s first investment in Brazil. His Portuguese remains fluent, and he is more than happy to help any alums who are interested in learning more about life/work/tech in Brazil. — Kate (Fisher) Murray; 1840 Huntingdon Road, Huntingdon Valley PA 19006; kmurraynd@yahoo.com

 

97MBA Continuing to Keep Classmates Connected
Joy Gaffud-Vaze had a fun-filled fall break in Vegas! Husband Suhas watched The Eagles (yes, they are still alive, according to Joy) at the Sphere, saw Maroon 5 with their 12-year-old and attended the Steelers vs. Raiders game the same weekend. Joy and family enjoyed great food along the way. Her next update will include details of their upcoming trip to India. Joy is consumer and regional commercial credit and operations director for Huntington National Bank. Ram “Lakshi” Lakshmanan checked in from St. Louis. Lakshi informed me that the St. Louis Jewish Light magazine announced that they would honor him as an “Unsung Hero.” Their citation reads: “An active, enthusiastic and engaging partner of the Jewish Community Relation Council’s interfaith work, he has earned the nickname ‘Rabbi Ram’ through his constant and unwavering presence within Jewish communal spaces. He has continued to be a bridge-builder across communities and is a dedicated volunteer, ready to serve wherever he is needed most.” Lakshi writes that he is both honored and humbled. Congratulations! Audrius Balaisis writes that he is in Vilnius, Lithuania, managing investments. He and his wife have a 3½-year-old son! Thank you for reaching out, Audrius! Jeff Catalina is in Pittsburgh with his wife, Erin Catalina ’00, and two daughters (ages 7 and 4). Jeff is CEO of Further Advisory, a management consulting firm focused on clients in the financial services industry. Chris Ludwig is in San Francisco, and reports that as of this fall he is officially an empty nester. Tim Coff was on campus for Louisville and caught up with Jennifer and Stu Fortener and Katie Wolsfeld-Moll. Anthony Jowid just moved back to CO. Ant-Man is flying in for the Navy game. Elena and Mike Dion are basically running an Airbnb and hosted a large group of ND alums for the Navy game in NJ. Guests included Heather Drinan, Mary Beth Pinard, Kerry McInerney, Jenn and Stu Fortener, and Katie Wolsfeld-Moll. JJ Evans started a new position as senior assistant public defender at the Dutchess County Public Defender’s Office. Congrats, JJ! JJ and I speak often, and he continues to be one of the most hilarious people I know! Bill Asch recently joined Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits helping with their digital transformation. For those who don’t know, SGWS is the largest distributor of wine and spirits in North America. It’s been a fun time with regular visits to Miami. If you are in the Miami area, drop Bill a line at bill@asch.org. He would love to buy you a drink. Using LinkedIn I did reach out to some other MBAs including Charlie James, Joe Fanning and Tom Traynor, but at the writing of this column have not heard back. I hope to hear from you all soon! Here in NY, we’re busy gearing up for our big New Year’s Eve comedy shows on Long Island. Kathy and I will be down in Naples FL for the early part of the holiday season. Text, email or dial me up. Find me on LinkedIn as Paul Anthony; my cell: 646-584-7340, or email at paulanthonymba@gmail.com. Thanks to all the MBAs that continue to help make this column possible. It is always great to hear from you all. Thank you also for all the positive feedback on the column. Much appreciated. Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Go Irish! Your faithful Class secretary, — Paul Anthony Mongelluzzo; 646-584-7340; paulanthonymba@gmail.com

 

97JD East Coast News
Scott Sroka is an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of NY. He has been named, on a part-time basis, co-director of the law program at Canisius U in Buffalo NY. Scott lives in the Buffalo area with his wife, Marla, and son, Eliot. Lindsay Wilson recently re-joined his former law firm, Nixon Peabody LLP, as counsel in their Boston office. Go Irish! — Julie Vales; cell 973-727-5767; juliemvales@gmail.com; john.vales@dentons.com

 

98 Happy New Year
Keep an eye out for Kevin Bethune’s new book, Nonlinear: Navigating Design and Curiosity (The MIT Press), coming out in February. This is Kevin’s second book following the best-selling success of his first book, Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation (The MIT Press) which was released in March of 2022. Congratulations, Kevin! And it would not be an update if we did not hear what Eric Anderson is up to. Eric recently won the Loyola Academy cross country team’s Parent Race in Wilmette IL by completing 1,600 meters in 5:58. This is Eric’s fourth year in a row winning the event, and his senior cross country star daughter, Elle, could not be more proud. Go Ramblers and Go Irish! — Bob Flannery; rflannery98@gmail.com

 

98MBA A Few Bits of News Here. Send More!
As we get older (and wiser, of course), nostalgia for that time together in the halls of COBA gets even sweeter. So it’s always great to hear from you with news to share and celebrate with you. This round, Mike Kroeger shared a recent promotion to vice president–project management at Simon Property Group, where he will soon be starting his 20th year. His son also had a thrilling ND brush over the summer, meeting star Irish football cornerback Benjamin Morrison at a football camp in Phoenix. Frank Chang shared that Bill Kane just joined him at Epicor Software … where Frank was recently promoted to director of finance pre-sales. Let me know your own updates to share. — Mark Holloway; mholloway@alumni.nd.edu

 

98JD Class Secretary — Chris Putt;
mobile 574-514-3703; crputt@gmail.com

 

99 Classmate Featured on FaithND
Brandon Roach Oct. 29. Please send updates! — Ryan D. Costantini; 414 S. Notre Dame Ave., South Bend IN 46617; mobile: 574-339-8050; ryan.costantini@gmail.com

 

99MBA New Paths
Jason Pistulka has announced his retirement from HCA Healthcare in March of 2025. He will be opening a consulting and advisory firm focused on the talent acquisition space. Valerie Woolsey has started a doctoral program in social work at USC. Go Irish! — Christy (Hayes) King; christyking@alumni.nd.edu

 

99JD Class Secretary — Steve Boettinger;
boettinger@alumni.nd.edu