2008
Megan Phillips Rosier
megankrosier@gmail.com

Sarah Haney Koons
sjh6@hood.edu

This past February April English returned from 1.½ years of missionary service in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she worked to help stop violence against youth and taught English and crochet in a local youth center. Andrew Randall ’09 and Stephanie Hearn ’09, M.S. ’14 are getting married Aug. 30. They share a love of history and antiques so they are saying ‘I do’ at the historic Mar-Va Theater in Pocomoke, Md. Megan Lamm ’09, Leif Vestermark ’09, Josh Nelson ’09 and Terrence Sullivan ’09 are all in the wedding party. Stephen Koons ’07, M.A. ’08 and Sarah Koons ’08 welcomed a daughter Olivia Madison in January. Ashley Nick Wilson and Nate Wood-Wilson ’05 were married June 21, 2014, in Brownsville, Md. April Street started working for the state of Maryland in the department of juvenile services in 2012 as a case management specialist. She started graduate school in fall 2012 and is working on a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

2007
Melissa Barrick Estes
melissadestes@gmail.com

It is my great pleasure to share a lot of good news from the class of 2007. Amanda Earp Hayes recently purchased a new home in Baltimore with her husband Toby and 2-year-old son James.  She works at home as a freelance writer and editor and has published two short works. Laura Smith graduated from a two-year post-graduate certificate program for psychodynamic psychotherapy through the Washington School of Psychology in Washington, D.C. She works with a practice in Frederick and is starting a private practice in Bethesda, Md. Jessica Palmer Biggs and her husband Josh live in Jacksonville, Fla. They welcomed twins, a son Mason and a daughter Aubrey, Aug. 31, 2013. Julia Blickenstaff, M.S. ’14, graduated from Hood with her master’s degree in management of information technology in May 2014. She currently lives in NYC. Congratulations to Katie Chick who was recently promoted! She is now the director in career management at The Advisory Board Company where she has been working for more than seven years. Laurie Burrier Atwell was married at Hood in July 2010. She and husband welcomed a son Colton in August 2011. She now lives in Smithsburg, Md., and is a history teacher at Smithsburg High School. Amber Guzman, M.A. ’08, earned her master’s degree in thanatology from Hood in 2008 and her doctor of psychology in clinical psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology in 2013. She is working as a psychologist in the Geriatric Care Clinic at the Leavenworth, Kan., VA Medical Center. She also recently bought a home! Sarah Fortney Marshall and her husband welcomed a son Cameron Jay Marshall Aug. 8, 2013. Adrienne Lawrence is the new operations and conference director for the Journalism and Women Symposium. JAWS is a national association that supports the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism and works toward a more accurate portrayal of the whole society. Christine Layton earned her doctor of philosophy in plant pathology and plant-microbe biology from Cornell Univ. She moved to St. Louis, Mo., to take a new job at Monsanto Company; she is also engaged to Courtney James, brother of Megan James ’06. Emmanuel Osong Noumbissie is now married and has two children, Quinn and Liam, both under the age of 2. He graduated with his doctor of philosophy this year in epidemiology from Walden Univ. and started a pharmacovigilance consulting company, NEOPha, Inc. in 2010. Kimberli Smith O’Connell and her husband Daniel welcomed son Desmond Ward O’Connell June 10, 2013. Stephanie Cowen Eisenberg and her husband moved to Las Vegas in September 2013. She is now the executive producer of the morning show on KLAS-TV. She has been working in TV for the last seven years, including jobs in D.C. and Orlando, Fla. Laura Duncan, MBA  ’09 is now Laura Duncan, Esq. She works as an associate for Poffenbarger and Weddle and as an attorney for the Maryland Appointed Attorneys Program. Amy Duvall, M.S. ’13, earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Hood College in September 2013. Chelsea Henkel earned her master of public policy degree from Vanderbilt Univ., Peabody College of Education and Human Development and started a new job as a policy analyst with an education advocacy group in Denver, Colo. She also got engaged to Julien Ross. Jaclyn Stielper Pek and husband Kevin welcomed a daughter Lucille Luise Pek May 11, 2014. Congratulations to Derrick Harrigan, MBA ’14 who earned his master of business administration degree from Hood College in January 2014. Charis Loomer, M.S. ’13 married James Beavers July 4, 2014. They are expecting their first baby in October. Charis is a pre-school teacher at Monocacy Elementary School. Heather Holder Kuriga married Alexander Kuriga July 14, 2012, and moved to Florida on Feb. 4, 2013. Your class reporter, Melissa Barrick Estes, and husband Casey moved back to their hometown of Middletown, Md., just in time to welcome a son Adam Joseph in July 2013.

2005
Leslie Beck Hughan
lhughan@gmail.com
10th reunion, June 5-7, 2015

Class of 2005, we have a lot of news this issue. It seems like everyone is so busy. Yet again, there are new degrees, marriages, new jobs, babies, moves, but no extreme couponers, which honestly, surprises me. I thought for sure we would have one class member who clips a ton of coupons for impressive savings. My hope was that our class extreme couponer would pass along some practical saving advice to the rest of us so we can start saving for our 10-year reunion next year! Can you believe it? Those 10 years flew by in the blink of an eye. I am a little excited to see you all again, if you cannot tell. So, let it come as no surprise if our next few columns mention reunion weekend 2015. You turned to this page not to be bombarded with reunion information, but to see what our friends have been doing, so let us get on with the updates. MaameYaa Boafo earned a master of fine arts degree in acting from Rutgers Univ. in 2009. She married Jeremiah Abiah and they are living in New York City. You will currently see her starring on the hit web series An African City and this fall she will be performing Off-Broadway in LIFT by Walter Mosley. You also may spot her in national commercials. Jillian Kotmair Bright along with husband Andrew and daughter Juliette welcomed twin girls, Alexandria Marie and Josephine Lily March 14. Cassie Dukes and husband John Tagliamburis are preparing to welcome a baby in early December. Danielle Rodman Giannandrea, M.A. ’08, C’07 and husband Frank purchased a new home in Frederick, which was featured in a nationally airing Remax commercial. Jennifer Harmon got married and her new last name is Nachtrieb. In addition to being a newlywed, she started a new job as the coordinator of the Community Research Center, Fairbanks North Star Borough in Alaska. Recently, her job brought her to Pittsburgh, Pa., for a conference where she was able to catch up with former roommate Rachel Lubkin Zeminski, M.S. ’07. Sarah Hoover is in a master of business administration program for international relations at Southern New Hampshire Univ. Melanie Howell reported life is sweet. In December, she became engaged to John D. Grantham, whom she dated for the past 10 years. They are getting married at the Cloisters Castle in Pikesville, Md., this October and look forward to spending the rest of their lives together. Kristen Heisey Leiter welcomed a baby girl, Katherine, into her family June 4. Georgette Sirak Prichard’s husband received a promotion last August and they have since purchased a house. They are living in Spring Lake, N.C., near Fort Bragg with three very loveable dogs who make life interesting. Sadly, her cat Smudge, aka, Fatty Fat Cat, who lived with her and Sarah Robinson Rathbun in their off-campus apartment senior year, passed away. He was 16 years old. Sarah Robinson Rathbun and her family moved from Nashville to San Francisco in June. Tiffany Still Grant, M.A. ’07, C’08 married David Grant Oct. 13. Make sure you visit our online column to see a photo of Tiffany and her husband. Charlene Vestermark was accepted for a gastroenterology fellowship at the National Capital Consortium Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., which begins in August. Janelle Stevens Weddle, C’09 claims it is not newsworthy but celebrated 10 years of marriage with Jeremiah July 17. I say she is wrong. Congratulations, Janelle and Jeremiah! And now a special note of thanks from Jennifer Dunn Brown. “I was humbled by the love and support I received from my Hood girls when my mom passed in February. Whether it was a note on Facebook, a card in the mail, a phone call, a donation to the American Cancer Society or a show of support at the funeral, I was truly grateful to know I had so many people thinking about me and praying for my family. I am beyond grateful for my Hood family.” Nate Wood-Wilson and Ashley Nick Wilson ’08 were married June 21, 2014, in Brownsville, Md. As always, if you have news to share in the next issue of the Hood Magazine, please send it to me via email at lhughan@gmail.com or via Facebook.

2004
Chanda Gilmore
chandagilmore@gmail.com

Michelle B. Donati-Grayman
mdonati@arizona.aaa.com

It was wonderful for the class of 2004 members who were able to attend the 2014 Hood reunion this summer. Class reporters, Chanda Gilmore and Michelle Donati-Grayman were honored with the 2014 Outstanding Recent Alumna Award for their professional accomplishments during a special luncheon at the reunion. A special congratulations to Jennifer Smith Miller and her husband on the birth of their daughter Zuri Elizabeth April 23. Congratulations to Maya Laws on her marriage to Justin Barney July 11. Congratulations to Susan Nasr on graduating from the Univ. of Rochester Medical School in May and her marriage to Dr. Alexandre Tchekhovskoi, also in May. They now live in Oakland, Calif., and she is completing her residency at Alameda County Medical Center. Classmates Sara Lewis and Kitty Chotoo were in attendance for both events. Congratulations to Sara Lewis and her family on purchasing a new home in Montclair, N.J., in March 2013. Sara is currently coordinating a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant, Project LAUNCH as part of the Essex Pregnancy and Parenting Connection. Essence Jones, M.A. ’07, C’07 is now the quality assurance manager and hospital liaison for Contemporary Family Services, Inc. Lauren Davies Rosario has a new job as senior marketing analyst at PAR, a psychological assessment developer and publisher. Elizabeth Waggoner Miller and family are now stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan for the next three years.

2000
Suzanne Benson
suzanne.isabella@gmail.com
15th reunion, June 5-7, 2015

More babies, new houses and jobs for the class of 2000! Lynn Whelchel-Wilson, M.S. ’07, her husband and baby bought their first home in Lititz, Pa., in April 2014. Lynn is proud to announce her new full-time job as a stay-at-home-mommy to Farrah Ripley. Lea Meyer and her husband Scott welcomed a baby boy, Asher Camden Horwath, on Dec. 26, 2013. Kayden Horwath, 2, is so excited to be a big sister. Jennifer Lidie Babu is still at Verizon and was promoted to manager last September. She is also active in her boy’s activities and volunteers for Pack 39 and Purcellville Baptist Church. Erica Crispens Sowash is working as a registered nurse at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She works on the bone marrow transplant unit and finds assisting in the care and treatment of this patient population to be both challenging and rewarding. Katie Ellison ’01 bought her very first home in the Beaverdale area of Des Moines, Iowa, this past November. She was remarried on April 26 to Rob Johnson and they are expecting their first born son on September 18. She still works at the Veteran Affairs hospital as the only low-vision therapist in the state and was just accepted into the Regents Alternative Pathway to Iowa Licensure teaching program! As for me, Suzanne Benson, I recently left my finance role at The Johns Hopkins University for a position (working from home!) as director of marketing and business development for 858 Flooring, LLC (www.858flooring.com). I also blog about family-friendly news and events in the Baltimore/Maryland/Virginia/DC/Pennsylvania area on my “Baltimore Mom” blog (www.baltimoremomblog.com). I still live with my partner/one-day-hubby and three daughters (9, 4 and 1½ years old) in our Parkville home, just north of Baltimore and continue to keep in touch with other fellow Hoodlums, collecting news for the Hood magazine and networking on social media. See you next issue!

1999
Amy Countryman Stavely
amy@stavely.org

Lisa Anne Schivley Hendrix graduated from Salem College in December 2013 with her master of arts in teaching degree in secondary mathematics education. Ruth Edmunds Rossi and her husband Chris had a baby boy, Elijah Sherman, on Feb. 13, 2014.

1998
Blythe Chambers
blythe.chambers@gmail.com

Greetings Nuns! This time of year reminds me of when we received our very first assignment from Hood College during the summer of 1994, right after we graduated high school: we were to read Diane Ackerman’s, A Natural History of the Senses. I remember it being the most delectable book I had ever been assigned to read after four years of high school exposure to English literature’s finest selection of books on paranoia, such as Clockwork Orange, Macbeth, A Brave New World, 1984, The Metamorphosis and The Lord of the Flies. The lush book cover alone was enough to begin a brand new journey on the most optimistic of feet. Piled into the auditorium to listen to Ms. Ackerman speak those first couple of days of orientation, our friendships marked only by timid greetings and pre-determined roommate situations, the space smelled and creaked of old wood and history. The air in the auditorium was thick with the sense that the next four years were going to be nothing short of awesome! The magical world of the Hood College campus left imprints on all our senses: snow touching skin while running through the pergola on frigid night; decadent desserts served abundantly in Memorial; Handel’s lyrics “His yolk is easy, his burden is light! His burden, his burden is light” ringing in our ears like sleigh-bells; emotional bonds of friendships forged forever. Now, unbelievably nearly two decades later, I do not know about you but I still wear the same ragged Hood College heather-grey sweatshirt I wore back then: every stain a memory, every frayed edge a moment. It is somewhere around here. I would wear it now just to write the class column if it were not so darn hot in Texas! So, let us wait no more for what we came here for: the news! Jennifer Massagli became engaged to Timothy Morgenthaler in December. Her wedding will be in Sykesville, Md., Messiah weekend. Jamie Szocinski Gillette, M.S. ’01, C’02 and Erin Janney Kanner ’00, Jennifer’s “little sister,” are bridesmaids. Shannon Mack ’99 is the wedding planner. Sally Schaeffer is the director of public policy for Girl Scouts of the USA. As the president of the Women’s Congressional Golf Association, Sally presented a First Tee of Greater Washington, D.C. LPGA/USGA Girls Golf $1,500 college scholarship to Attiyah Jenkins ’18 who will attend Hood College in the fall. Renee Endia Hargrove , mother to an active 23-month-old son, became the director of business administration/chief financial officer and family engagement chair for the Cristo Rey Network of Schools. She is in the executive education program at the Kellogg School of Management and hopes to bring innovation to pre-school and secondary education institutions. Stephanie Gordy Clark recently enjoyed three weeks traveling to Japan and South Korea, visiting with friends and touring solo. She recently met with Hoodlums Sally Schaeffer and Allison Bell Barrett ’99. Stephanie completed the Dirty Girl Mud Run and looked forward to her annual trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Ann Frances Price-Davis became president of the Ladies Auxiliary Maryland State Firemen’s Association in June 2014 for a one-year term that takes 13 years to achieve. Becky Turner Finberg attended the ceremony. Danielle Adgerson Clarke became a licensed minister in October 2012. Fellow Hoodlums Tami Brasfield Smith ’99, Vanessa Voundy Hawkins ’00, Venette Voundy ’00, and Melinda Miller Wright ’00 were in attendance. Danielle founded The Sister Network, a nonprofit, and is joined by Hoodlum Dzauya “Dizzy” Nkuchwayo ’99 on the board of directors. As for me, Blythe Chambers, I am the happy single-mother of an amazing 4-year-old whose summer 2014 will be known as the summer he went camping with his mommy for the first time, learned to fish and attended nearly every Vacation Bible School in San Antonio, Texas. In my independent consulting practice I serve as the editor and director for the Marcus & Millichap publication, Mobile Quarterly, and in other advisory capacities for multiple clients in various fields. And with that, fellow nuns, I bid you adieu a final time. This will be my last class update for the Hood Magazine as your dutiful and faithful class reporter for more than a decade.  I am now passing the torch to the lovely Pamela Wilson Colaluca who will be contacting you all for the next issue. Thank you for letting me into your lives for the past decade-plus! Cheers to your successes, hugs for your struggles, smiles for your Hood memories. Be well and God bless. Onward! “We are the nuns, nuns, nuns of Hood College!”

1995

Jacki Resop Amato
jresop@yahoo.com

20th reunion, June 5-7, 2015
Hi Hoodlums! Can you believe our 20-year reunion is next year? Where has the time gone? Crazy! Julie Clark, a Frederick resident, has started her own business, Hello Baby Breastfeeding. She is working as an internationally board certified lactation consultant as well as a librarian in the local public library. She is busy raising two children and involved with a handful of community activities. Her husband is grateful to be distracted by their new German Shepherd Izzy. Heather Hamilton said, “After two years sailing the U.S. and Caribbean on our 40-foot sailboat, my husband and I spent a year in Thailand where I worked with UNICEF. I now work in London and have a new job as a senior adviser and interim global coordinator of Girls Not Brides: the Global Partnership to End Child Marriage. If anyone is passing through London I would love to say hi!” Please feel free to email me or Facebook me anytime throughout the year. I would love to hear from ya! See you in June!

1994
Lucy Song Gilbart
lucygilbart@yahoo.com

Hello, this is Lucy Song Gilbart, your class reporter. I hope everyone is having a good summer so far. If anyone is interested to help out with class news, please join me. I hope to hear more news from you in the upcoming year and hope all of you live well and prosper.

1992

Michelle Annette Barr
mraynesford@rocketmail.com

Sally Altland Mason
masons@rlasd.net

Nancy Gregg Poss ’92 lives in Seaside Park, N.J. Her girls are ages 19, 10 and 8 and her oldest is entering her junior year of college. She works for SICA Industries. I, Michelle Annette Barr, am engaged to a great guy Richard Inman and currently working several jobs. My oldest son Justin will be a freshman at the Univ. of Kansas and my middle son Neil will be in the eighth grade. My daughter Marrissa will be in the sixth grade. I hope all is well with my classmates!