Class Notes
1950s
Pat Allen-Kaplon 鈥59 has published a memoir, A Child Called Hope; a book of poetry; and two children鈥檚 books.
1960s
Joseph Boyle 鈥68 published his latest book, 鈥淲asteing my Substance by Riotous living鈥: New-England Runaways, 1778-1783. It is the fifth book in the series, that begins in 1704.
Susan Belschner Tager 鈥68 and McKinzie Wire Lefstein 鈥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 鈥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. 鈥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 鈥83 worked as a camera operator for C-SPAN for the January 6th Committee hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Carolyn German 鈥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鈥檚 degree in training and development.
James Burke 鈥88 helps small businesses understand how to compete for government contracts. He was recognized as the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command鈥檚 Small Business Specialist for 2021.
1990s
Valerie Burnette 鈥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鈥檚 office.
Maury Merryman Thackston 鈥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 鈥92, 鈥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鈥22 Policy Fellowship cohort. The cohort will focus on a range of issues of importance to California鈥檚 teachers, students and parents.
Ray Van Horn Jr. 鈥93 released Coming of Rage, a collection of short stories. Many are set in Maryland.
Michelle Huggins 鈥94 began her new role as a human resources (HR) partner in the 撸先生 Office of Human Resources in February. She provides HR advice and guidance to select divisions across the 撸先生 community.
Steven Lorenzet 鈥94, 鈥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 鈥96, 鈥98 is the founder and CEO of Hey Caregiver!, a lifestyle brand that educates, equips and encourages caregivers to live a life of 鈥渟elfullness鈥 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 鈥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 鈥99 recently accepted a position with Johns Hopkins University in its Scheduling & Events Services department.
Melissa L. Leedom 鈥99 wrote articles for Ladyboss International Backstage Pass, a new online magazine for entrepreneurial women.
2000s
Lori Blewett 鈥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 鈥00 was selected as one of The Daily Record鈥檚 Maryland Top 100 Women, which recognizes high-achieving Maryland women who are making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring.
James Belt 鈥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 鈥淐J鈥 Penny 鈥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 鈥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 鈥04, was named to the 2021 President鈥檚 Circle of Cambria, a producer of American-made quartz surfaces, because of her work on behalf of Cambria and the company鈥檚 customers.
Chanda Lockhart 鈥08 wrapped up her fifth school year with Gateway Public Schools and is becoming its chief development officer.
2010s
Krystle Starvis 鈥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 鈥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 鈥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 鈥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 鈥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 鈥18 is a cofounder of a fintech/capital raising platform for real estate.
Lillian Frazier 鈥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.

