Class Notes

1950s

Pat Allen-Kaplon ’59 has published a memoir, A Child Called Hope; a book of poetry; and two children’s books.

1960s

Joseph Boyle ’68 published his latest book, “Wasteing my Substance by Riotous living”: New-England Runaways, 1778-1783. It is the fifth book in the series, that begins in 1704.

Susan Belschner Tager ’68 and McKinzie Wire Lefstein ’03 collaborated on a new Christmas book, More Lights for Frankie, which will be available for purchase in fall 2022. Tager met Lefstein when the latter was in an afterschool art program. Tager taught in an elementary school.

1970s

William Owings ’73 is a professor of educational leadership at Old Dominion University. He will retire at the end of the next school year after 26 years in public education and 24 in higher education.

Emerson L. Dorsey Jr. ’76 is a partner at Tydings & Rosenberg LLP and chair of its business department. He has been appointed to the board of directors of Maryland Legal Aid.

1980s

Jim Clark ’83 worked as a camera operator for C-SPAN for the January 6th Committee hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn German ’83 has written The Monologue Method: A Comprehensive Approach to Teaching/Learning Acting in the Classroom. She is a playwright, producer, director, performer and teaching artist. German incorporates the theater arts in her corporate training and consulting services, and she recently earned a master’s degree in training and development.

James Burke ’88 helps small businesses understand how to compete for government contracts. He was recognized as the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command’s Small Business Specialist for 2021.  

1990s

Valerie Burnette ’91 retired as director of communications at a state transportation agency
and moved to the private sector as vice president of Stokes Creative Group. Most recently, she accepted a position with the Build America Bureau at the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary’s office.

Maury Merryman Thackston ’92 retired as a geographic information system (GIS) professional for the Harford County government in October 2021. She was recently hired as a GIS consultant by Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Wendy Threatt ’92, ’98 teaches at Felicita Elementary School in the Escondido Union School District in California. Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that empowers teachers to lead improvements in educational policy and instructional practice, selected her as one of 25 teachers from around California for its 2021–22 Policy Fellowship cohort. The cohort will focus on a range of issues of importance to California’s teachers, students and parents.

Ray Van Horn Jr. ’93 released Coming of Rage, a collection of short stories. Many are set in Maryland.

Michelle Huggins ’94 began her new role as a human resources (HR) partner in the TU Office of Human Resources in February. She provides HR advice and guidance to select divisions across the TU community.

Steven Lorenzet ’94, ’96 was appointed dean of the Touro University School of Health Sciences. Lorenzet was most recently the associate dean at the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University and served previously in the capacity of dean, director and professor at National, Rider and Kean universities.

Dawnita Brown ’96, ’98  is the founder and CEO of Hey Caregiver!, a lifestyle brand that educates, equips and encourages caregivers to live a life of “selfullness” during their caregiving journey. Brown is the founder of The Binti Circle, a support group for Black daughters caring for their mothers and the host of The Selfull Caregiver podcast.

Elizabeth A. (Wolf) Clark ’97 recently accepted the position of education program manager for the Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute (PSFEI) in State College, Pennsylvania. Clark was certified as a Pennsylvania master naturalist in fall 2021 and obtained her certified interpretive guide (CIG) designation from the National Association for Interpretation.

Vivian Kerner ’99 recently accepted a position with Johns Hopkins University in its Scheduling & Events Services department.

Melissa L. Leedom ’99 wrote articles for Ladyboss International Backstage Pass, a new online magazine for entrepreneurial women. 

2000s

Lori Blewett ’00 and her communications team earned six awards for excellence in church communications from Episcopal Communicators. Categories included campaign, e-newsletter, photography, graphic design and podcast. Blewett was also elected to serve on the board for the Episcopal Communicators national organization.

Dionne N. Curbeam ’00 was selected as one of The Daily Record’s Maryland Top 100 Women, which recognizes high-achieving Maryland women who are making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring.

James Belt ’03 published Hope Realized: How the Power of Practical and Spiritual Development Can Diminish Poverty and Expose the Lie of Hopelessness. The book details what Belt has learned about poverty and how to address it, stemming from working in community and economic development in Nicaragua for more than 10 years.

Charles “CJ” Penny ’03 made a short film, Normalized, which won Best Short Narrative at the D.C. Independent Film Forum in Washington, D.C. It takes an intimate look at the complexities of a high-achieving African American male navigating life, racial identity, addiction and parenthood while managing his mental instability.

Mike Vasilikos ’03 has been named midday host and operations manager at WXPN, the member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. Vasilikos, who joined the station in 2008, has served as associate program director and has filled in
for other hosts.

Kelly Ann Swailes Koster ’04, was named to the 2021 President’s Circle of Cambria, a producer of American-made quartz surfaces, because of her work on behalf of Cambria and the company’s customers.

Chanda Lockhart ’08 wrapped up her fifth school year with Gateway Public Schools and is becoming its chief development officer.

2010s

Krystle Starvis ’11 was named the first chief operating officer of the Baltimore nonprofit CLLCTIVLY, a place-based, social change organization focused on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness and resource mobilization. Starvis will help increase capacity and initiate technical assistance and educational offerings for the CLLCTIVLY network.
She will also manage the annual day of giving and #28DaysofBlackFutures campaign.

Alyssa Zauderer ’12 has joined Johnson & Johnson as an audience engagement manager for the company's Content Lab. She oversees social media strategy and campaigns for its corporate social channels.

Paul Kenneth Burns ’15 is South Jersey reporter for WHYY-FM in Philadelphia whose reports are regularly heard on WBGO in Newark, New Jersey, and WDIY in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
He was part of the team that won Best Newscast in the radio division of the 2022 Keystone Media Awards. In June, he won second place for spot news at the 2022 Public Media Journalists Association Awards. In July, he began his one-year term as president of the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists.

Rebecca Nappi ’15 is a U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) public affairs specialist who was recognized as the first-place winner of the Department of Defense-wide Kathy Canham-Ross Award of Distinction. The award is part of the Army-wide Major General Keith L. Ware Communication Awards Competition. Nappi serves as a community relations liaison for the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) senior commander and the CECOM commanding general, interfacing between the APG and surrounding local, state and federal leaders, organizations and industry partners.

Cody Boteler ’17 started as the newsletter writer at The Baltimore Banner in July. He works with reporters, editors and others in the newsroom to write The Scan, a weekday email newsletter.

David Bryant ’18 is a cofounder of a fintech/capital raising platform for real estate.

Lillian Frazier ’19 has joined The Baltimore Station, an organization that provides individuals who suffer from homelessness or substance use disorder with residential and outpatient treatment programs, as volunteer coordinator. Frazier develops and maintains active, informed and engaged volunteers who support the organization. She contributes to data management, event planning, stewardship activities and in-kind donation coordination.