Alumni Class Notes

Vandana Sharma ’92 has been appointed Chief Risk Officer at Citibank.

Penny Pennington ’85, Managing Partner at Edward Jones, has been named One of the Most Powerful Women in Finance 2022 by American Banker. In April, Barron’s named her to the list of its 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance.

Braden Snyder ’11, a Partner at technology-focused growth equity firm Updata Partners, will join the board of Benivo, a human resources startup focused on mobility management, after Updata Partners led a $12 million funding round for Benivo. Snyder joined Updata Partners in 2014 as a Principal, and in January, was promoted to Partner for his “significant contributions to closing three new investments, representing over $75 million of capital deployed” in 2021. At Updata, Snyder’s deals have included Mashable, PulsePoint, Bridge2 Solutions, Netwrix, Homesnap, Glassbox, Adthena, Living Security, Vector Remote Care, and LandTech. Prior to joining Updata Partners, Snyder was an Associate at Sagent Advisors, where he provided M&A and other financial advisory services.

 

David L. Ginsberg ’92, an Attorney at Cooper Ginsberg Gray PLLC, was recently recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for Family Law. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. In addition to the “Lawyer of the Year” award, he was also listed in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Family Law & Family Law Mediation.

Jennifer Mason ’92, Global Officer, Treasurer, and Risk Management for Marriott International, has been appointed to the board of directors of Cedar Fair L.P., a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks, and immersive entertainment. In her role at Marriott, Mason oversees global capital markets and hotel financing, financial strategy and capital allocation, financial risk management, and global capital transactions and treasury services, and is responsible for the company’s risk management function including insurance, claims, business continuity and global safety and security. Prior to her current role, Mason was CFO for the U.S. & Canada division. Since 1992, Mason has held several leadership positions at Marriott, including Senior Vice President of IT Business Partnership & Planning, as well as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Planning Support. In her first 16 years with Marriott, Mason held several positions of increasing responsibility in Internal Audit, Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, Lodging Finance and Business Development. She was Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic region and Vice President, Finance Business Partner for sales and marketing, before serving in her Senior Vice President roles.

Emily Lagler Schade ’16 of East Hampton, NY, and McNally Severn Lee of Manhattan were married on Sept. 10 at the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor. The Rev. Dr. Joseph David Stinson, former Minister of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church in New Jersey and a retired Rear Admiral in the Navy and Deputy Chief of Chaplains, performed the ceremony. A welcome party for guests was held at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, and a reception followed at the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett. The bride is the daughter of Angel and Curt Schade ’80 of Vero Beach, FL. The groom, who is known as Mac, is a son of Tracie and Edward Lee of Devon, PA. The bride earned a bachelor’s degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia; the groom got his B.A. from Bates College in Maine. She is an Account Supervisor at Droga5 NY; he is a Vice President at the Bridge Investment Group. They met at a dinner party in East Hampton. On their wedding day, they were attended by a mix of family and friends, including the bride’s three brothers, Chris ’15, Alden, and Harlan Schade ’20, and the groom’s brother, Zander Lee. Quincy Miller, who is 3, was the flower girl. The bride wore a custom gown by Amsale and then a Carolina Herrera mini dress. The groom wore a custom Brooks Brothers tuxedo. They drove off in a seafoam green and white 1967 Jeepster convertible. After a wedding trip in French Polynesia, the couple will return home to Central Park West in Manhattan.

Scott Ehrlich ’89, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Los Angeles law firm Sklar Kirsh, teaches Business Planning: Financing The Start-Up Business & Venture Capital Financing at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles as an Adjunct Professor of Law.

Todd MacLeod ’90 has had a busy 2022. A Partner at Bachara Construction Law Group in Jacksonville, FL, Todd was included in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America© in the areas of construction law and construction litigation. This marks the first time that MacLeod, who worked for many years in the construction industry before beginning a second career in construction law, received the peer-conferred honor, which is awarded to only about 5.3% of lawyers in private practice nationwide. He was also recognized for the sixth time as a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star.” In August, Todd married his longtime sweetheart, Cindy Craig Johnson, at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, with the couple’s blended family of four children in attendance.

MacLeod obtained his MBA in Decision Information Science from the University of Florida and his J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law. He is a member of The Florida Bar, the Jacksonville Bar Association, American Bar Association, Northeast Florida Builders Association, and the Attorneys Council of the American Subcontractors Association.

Megan Van Syckle Winter ’09 and Christopher Winter (A&S ’07) and welcomed a son, Brooks Christopher, born Aug. 18, 2022. The family, including proud sister Caroline, lives in Charlottesville.

Bradford Seagraves ’09 recently founded Northbank Capital Management. Northbank’s long/short equity fund is focused on the renewable natural gas vertical, where companies capture biogas emissions from landfills and farms and process it into pipeline-spec natural gas. A CFA charterholder, he currently resides in Sun Valley, ID. Previously, Bradford was a Senior Buy-Side Analyst at Davenport & Co. in Richmond, VA.

Sarah (Rose) Carlin (Engineering ’05, M.S. in MIT ’13) and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first child, Nathan Edward, born March 12, 2022. The family lives in Northern Virginia, where Sarah is an IT Strategist for Booz Allen Hamilton and Matt is a sales engineering manager for Splunk.

Frank S. Macgill ’91, a Partner at HunterMaclean, a law firm with offices in Savannah and St. Simons Island, GA, was recently selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2023. Founded in 1983, Best Lawyers is an annual publication that recognizes attorneys for outstanding achievements in their areas of practice. Attorneys are selected through peer-review surveys that have been completed by thousands of leading lawyers who confidentially evaluate their peers. Frank was also noted as a “Lawyers of the Year” in the practice area of Tax Law.

Erika Maguire (A&S ’12, M.S. in Commerce ’13) is thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world, running 2,194 miles across 14 states, from Georgia to Maine. “While it was the physical and mental challenge that initially attracted me to tackling the five-month journey, it’s the people I’ve met along the way who have truly made the experience,” Maguire says. “The beautiful views, the nights in camp, and all the wildlife encounters have been great—well, except for the bears and rattlesnakes! But what I’ll remember and cherish most are the kind strangers who went out of their way to help me along the way. From providing water and food to high fives and good company, these trail angels have reminded me of the power of community, and I’m so grateful to be a part of this one. So, go after the life that’s true to you and only you.”

Gordon Bernhardt ’85 is pleased to announce the Sept. 27 launch of his upcoming book, Buen Camino: What a Hike through Spain Taught Me about Investing and Life. The book will remind readers that although we’re all walking a different path, we’re all headed for a common destination. Gordon is the Founder, President, and CEO of Bernhardt Wealth Management, a comprehensive wealth management firm based in McLean, VA. The company is an independent registered investment advisory firm that provides clients with financial planning and investment management.

Jordan Brown ’04 and husband, Greg, welcomed their first daughter, Easton Campbell Brown, born July 26, 2022. Easton is well loved by two older brothers, Bruce (10) and Bode (2). The family lives in Newport Beach, CA.

Omar Garriott ’02 will join the UVA Darden School of Business as Executive Director of the Batten Institute Sept 1. A successful corporate intrapreneur, venture founder, and author with leadership experience in a variety of major technology firms, Garriott will lead the institute in supporting Darden’s mission to improve the world by developing responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.

Judith Hermis ’09 joined the faculty of Saint Mary’s College of California in January as an Assistant Professor of Accounting in the School of Economics and Business Administration. She was previously on the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her research examines how accounting information enhances decision-making at the intersection of the public and private sectors.

Khalil Andraos ’06, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Financial Adviser, was recently named to the 2022 Forbes “Next Gen Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” list for Virginia. Andraos is a Certified Financial Planner, a designation awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. He also holds a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation.

Felise Agranoff ’04, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a Portfolio Manager of JPMorgan Active Growth ETF, an actively managed style pure-growth ETF launched earlier this month that seeks to outperform the Russell 1000 Growth Index. An employee of J.P. Morgan Asset Management since 2004, Agranoff is a Portfolio Manager for the J.P. Morgan Growth Advantage, Mid Cap Growth, and Mid Cap Equity Strategies. As a research analyst for the growth team, Agranoff has covered industrials, financials, and business services. She is a member of CFA Institute and a CFA charterholder. Agranoff is an industry-recognized portfolio manager, having been named to Citywire’s “Top Female Portfolio Managers in the U.S.” in 2014, and is a member of Citywire’s Amplify “Equities Elite,” a list of 421 top fund managers in the asset management industry.

Tara Z. Fisher ’98 (M.S. in Accounting ’99), a Lecturer at American Unviersity, is the author of the book Virginia is for Adventurers, in which a group of friends competes in a scavenger hunt across the Commonwealth. Fisher, who lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and three children, was inspired to share her love of Virginia with readers after traveling to nearly every corner of the state on an outdoor scavenger hunt for LOVE signs. Learn more about the book and the scavenger hunt for readers.

David Scott Thompson ’01 has announced that he is joining forces with Doug Rohan, another workers’ compensation attorney in Atlanta, to provide more resources to better serve their clients. Thompson, who has been in Atlanta since enrolling at Emory University School in 2001, will also be helping with marketing.