Alumni Class Notes

  • 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.

  • Christopher S. Lee ’05 published his first novel, Between the Shimmer & the Blinding, which debuted at #1 in Genetics on Amazon. A multigenerational family drama, the book centers on a young couple grappling with the decision of editing their embryos to reduce disease risks, inviting readers to probe the meaning of parenthood and legacy in our era of profound biotechnological change.

  • Austin Randolph Palmore (A&S ’15, M.S. in Commerce ’16) graduated in May with a Juris Doctor degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law. After sitting for the July 2022 Virginia Bar Examination, he will begin a one-year clerkship for the Honorable Judges of the Henrico County Circuit Court in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, followed by a two-year clerkship for the Honorable Randolph A. Beales, Judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals in Richmond.

  • Phillip Weinstein (M.S. in Commerce ’17) was named one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 professional and philanthropic leaders for 2022 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as selected by a committee of business leaders, philanthropic influencers, and young professionals across Middle Tennessee.

  • Kevin Wong ’13, Co-Founder of Lunar, is pleased to announce that their product, a modern hard seltzer that is perfectly blended “in a delicious, harmonious way” with Asian flavors that the founders love, is now available at Whole Foods Market in New York City. In December 2020, Wong says, he walked into his local Whole Foods in Brooklyn “with nothing but a dream, a few Lunar cans, and the passion to share our mission of amplifying Asian American culture and flavors,” and from there built and gathered excitement and passion from consumers and store managers alike in their market. “From homebrewing in my studio apartment three years ago, to Whole Foods naming Yuzu as a top food trend of 2022, to seeing our cans on the shelf at our dream retailer, this is such a surreal moment,” Wong adds.

  • Anna Peck ’13 is Founder and CEO at Chia Smash, which is now available in all Whole Foods Markets across the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, and Florida. “In mid-2020, we launched in a single Whole Foods in Manhattan; we spent every week there, getting to know the team, demoing, and keeping the shelves stocked and looking good,” she says. “Over time, we went from one store to three, then to five, and now two years later to over 200.”

  • Paola A. Castillo ’13 and Matthew T. Gregus ’13 (M.S. in Accounting ’14) celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary on May 21, 2022. They were married at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Washington, DC. The couple will be moving to Tampa, FL, with their one-year-old pug, Gnocchi, and continue to work for the federal Risk and Financial Advisory practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

  • Jeannette Lichner ’79 (M.S. in Accounting ’80), Non Executive Director at Financial Conduct Authority, was the first interviewee for the “Women Shaping the Future of Finance” series, hosted by Martina Garcia of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, a London-based think tank and charity. The fast-paced interview covered a wide variety of topics, including regulation, cryptos, and leadership.

  • Nancy Twine ’07, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Briogeo, is pleased to announce that Wella Company, a global leader in the $100 billion beauty industry, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Briogeo, one of the fastest-growing hair care brands in the world and one of the largest independent Black-owned brands in the United States. Under Twine’s leadership, Briogeo has revolutionized clean and natural hair care, offering effective products and solutions for every hair type, hair texture, hair need, ethnicity, background, and person. Briogeo has grown quickly since its inception and is an award-winning company, having earned the Allure Best of Beauty Award every year since 2018. Twine is recognized as one of the foremost entrepreneurs of a beauty startup in the last decade and has been awarded Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Impact in 2021, the Goldman Sachs Builders + Innovators Award in 2020, and the Cosmetic Executive Women Female Founder Award in 2019. Wella Company intends to support Briogeo and its strategy to excel at the forefront of sustainable beauty. Briogeo aligns with Wella Company’s deep commitment to building a company with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) embedded into its core. The addition of the Briogeo portfolio of prestige hair care complements Wella Company’s ambitions to deliver more diverse products for all hair types, while expanding clean and green products across its portfolio offerings. “The strength of Wella Company’s Research & Development, digital marketing and global operations, and their ability to reach 91 million hair and nail professionals and followers they serve and support will take our Briogeo brand to the next level,” Twine said. “This is a significant strategic partnership for both sides, and one that is compatible in ambition, philosophy, and culture. In Wella Company we have a committed partner to help our business and our employees reach the next level of growth.  We’re excited to accelerate our expansion and innovation, globally delighting more people in more geographies and through broader delivery channels.”

  • Yi-Xian Ng ’09, Group CEO of EtonHouse, was featured in an April 24 Straits Times article titled “Lunch with Sumiko: It’s a Family Affair at EtonHouse Group of Schools as Son Helps Mum to Oversee Business.” The article introduces him and his mother, Ng Gim Choo, Founder of the EtonHouse group of 120 schools in 11 countries.

  • Sami Siddiqui ’07, President, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at Restaurant Brands International, was featured in the May 2022 cover story of QSR magazine in a leadership profile titled “One for the Record Books.”

  • Omar Garriott ’02, Global Industry Lead (SVP/GM), Education at Qualtrics, is the co-author of Linked. In the book, he shares advice on effectively using LinkedIn to find your dream job, and recently appeared on WGN-TV to talk LinkedIn tips and tricks!

  • Daewoong Lee ’00, Senior Foreign Attorney at Kim & Chang, has been recognized in Who’s Who Legal 2022 as a national leader for Korea in the construction & real estate and energy sectors.

  • Sam Anderson (Armentrout) ’16 recently started a new position as Data Analyst at CodeSignal. She began her career as a Consultant at FTI, recently holding the position of Director.

  • Kyrsta Small Scully ’90 has been named Controller of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in Yountville, CA, which runs the French Laundry, Bouchon, Ad Hoc, and other fine restaurants in multiple locations across the country. She supervises accounting and financial matters for all the restaurants and related companies. After a 25-year career in food and beverage at luxury hotels, she turned to the accounting side and earned her California CPA license in 2020 and her CMA in 2017.