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2000-11

The classes of 2002 and 2007 will celebrate their Centennial Reunions during Homecoming, October 25-28.

2000

Belinda Briones (M.Ed. ’05) married Michael James Moran Nov. 27, 2009, at the Empire State Building in New York City. They live in Dallas, where both teach in the Dallas Independent School District. Their son, Benjamin Enzo, was born Sept. 6, 2011.
Quynh Dang Lu and her husband, Henry Lu, welcomed daughter Emma Sophie Oct. 20, 2011, in San José, CA.
C. Jerry Nelson retired after a 35-year career in international safety, security and loss prevention/claims. As a volunteer with Seniors vs. Crime, a project of the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to recover money for senior citizens engaged in civil disputes, he conducted research that uncovered an investments fraud scheme, ultimately totaling more than $1 billion in 23 states. As a result of his work, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s Meritorious Award Review Board honored him in a ceremony Nov. 17, 2011, with a “Certificate of Appreciation” for outstanding service to his community.

2001

David Bennett is executive director of Gotham Chamber Opera, intent on ensuring financial stability for the company poised to grow into the role held by New York City Opera.
Keren Elias is the winner of a Texas Medical Association scholarship award, given annually to one incoming medical student from each of nine Texas schools. She is the recipient from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Susan McIntyre has returned to Dallas as major gifts officer for The Dallas Opera.
Tiffanie Roberson Spencer announces the birth of daughter Nicolette Ciara July 11, 2011.

2002

Reunion Chairs: Julie Carney and Christopher L. Dodson
Debra J. DeWitte is an art historian specializing in nineteenth-century French art. She teaches at The University of Texas at Arlington and has developed an online art appreciation course that won a platinum award in 2008 from the United States Distance Learning Association. She co-authored the textbook Gateways to Art: An Introduction to the Visual Arts (W.W. Norton & Company Inc.). Jodi Warmbrod Dishman and her husband, Brent, welcomed their second son, Rook Keeter, Dec. 29, 2011. Their older son, Cash Davis, is 16 months. Jodi is counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. The Dishmans live at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX, where he is senior defense counsel for U.S.A.F. bases in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.
Trey Ditto has been appointed vice president at Emanate PR, an award-winning agency dedicated to integrated communications, consumer marketing and health and reputation management. Previously he was deputy communications director for the Republican Party of Texas, communications director for a U.S. congressman and deputy press secretary at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush Administration.
Nicole Locke Finn and her husband, Michael, welcomed their first child, son Parker Locke, Dec. 26, 2011, in Orange County, CA.
Theresa Eva Remek (M.L.A. ’07) was promoted November 1, 2011, to manager of administrative services in Development and External Affairs at SMU. She has more than 10 years of experience in nonprofit organizations and has formed and maintained important relationships across the SMU campus.

2003

Brett Charhon was promoted Jan. 1, 2012, to principal in the Dallas office of law firm McKool Smith. He handles litigation for clients in state and federal courts.
Dodee Frost Crockett is a Merrill Lynch financial advisor named one of the “Top 50 Wirehouse Women in 2011” in the January 2012 edition of Registered Rep. magazine. This follows her recognition on Barron’s list of “Top 100 Women Financial Advisors 2011.”

2004

Cece Cox, executive director and CEO of Resource Center Dallas, will serve on the board of directors of CenterLink, the national association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community centers, where she will oversee strategic direction while guiding the organization as it advocates empowerment, self-reliance, inclusion and diversity among the community centers in the coalition. She has more than 25 years of experience in executive management and leadership in the nonprofit and private sectors.
Allison Hannel, a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 2005 to 2007, spoke Jan. 31, 2012, at the SMU celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. She is senior brand marketing manager at AT&T.
Scott Harrison joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in October 2010 and Sept. 26, 2011, became senior director of patron engagement and loyalty programs and executive producer of digital media. Previously he was associate director of marketing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and spent several years managing community programs for the New Jersey Symphony.
Lindsay M. Higgins married Derek J. Schelldorf Oct. 15, 2011, in Fort Worth. They live in McKinney, TX.
Susanne Mayon began work Jan. 23, 2011, as advancement associate in National Major Giving at SMU. She recently moved back to Dallas from San Francisco, where she worked for Sterling Brands, a marketing and strategy firm.
Blake C. Norvell, a 2007 graduate of UCLA Law, has been published in the prestigious law journals of Yale University, USC and Temple University. Each scholarly article is circulated nationally to law schools and judges. The articles are available on WestLaw and LexisNexis, two databases widely used for legal research. In addition, he has given lectures based on the articles, including a series of four lectures for attorneys in New York City as part of a continuing legal education program.
Nathan T. Smithson was elected a partner last February in law firm Jackson Walker LLP in Dallas, focusing on federal income tax planning for domestic and international operations of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.

2005

Christy Isaacs and Charles Halladay were married in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Oct. 8, 2011. After honeymooning in southeast Asia, they are at home in Corona del Mar, CA.
E. Adrienne Jackson (J.D. ’08) has joined Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP’s labor, employment and benefits practice as an associate. She is experienced in defending against allegations of discrimination based on gender, natural origin, pregnancy and religion.
Akers Moore and Caitlin Rhodes (M.A., M.B.A. ’04) were married Oct. 8, 2011, in the Cox Chapel at Highland Park United Methodist Church. They live in Dallas.
Barbara R. Vance was presented an Indie Book Award and Moonbeam Silver Medal for her children’s poetry book, Suzie Bitner Was Afraid of the Drain. For each book sold on her website, www.suziebitner.com, she gives a book to a U.S. soldier, who is recorded reading it, and the USO sends the DVD and book to his/her children.

2006

Rachel Sam is a new associate in real estate practice in the Collin County (TX) office of law firm Strasburger & Price LLP. She has worked for a global law firm, dealing in real estate acquisitions, dispositions, financing transactions and negotiated leases.

2007

Reunion Chairs: Liz Healy and Taylor D. Russ
Nic Arras and his wife, Beth, announce the birth of daughter Zoë Rose, Aug. 15, 2011. He recently was promoted to controller, logistics and distribution, at Gates Corporation in Denver.
Garrett Haake works for NBC News covering the 2012 presidential election. As reporter, cameraman, producer, editor and blogger, he focuses on the Romney campaign and other political stories. He was nominated for two Emmy awards in 2010 and two in 2011 for helping produce NBC News specials, such as the funeral of Ted Kennedy, the earthquake in Haiti and climate change and conflict.
John T. Holiday Jr. is a countertenor, who in 2011 placed first in The Dallas Opera Guild competition, received The Sullivan Foundation Award and was recognized by the Santa Fe Opera with the Anna Case MacKay Award for his work last summer in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program. He signed with Columbia Artists Management Inc., one of the premier artists’ agencies in the world, and made his company debut with Portland Opera this March-April. He will debut at Carnegie Hall with the Atlanta Symphony.

2008

Jeff Broadway and his friend, Robert G. (Rob) Bralver, co-founded the film production company Gatling Pictures in 2009 while Jeff was pursuing post-graduate studies from the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California. Their first film was the documentary “Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story” about the life and music of the front man of the 90’s band Morphine. The film had an international screening in 2011, winning awards in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Their next film, a documentary on Taiwan, will hit the film festival circuit later this year.
Annie Lau is an associate in the Dallas office of national labor and employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP. Previously she was an associate at a firm in Houston and an intern for the EEOC.
Lindsay Miller married Daniel Scanio ’02 Oct. 15, 2011, at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio. She works at SMU in Alumni Giving and Relations, and he is an environment artist at id Software, a video game developer.
Allison Morrow Venuto started Ducks in a Row Personal Organizing in 2011, helping people find more time to spend on their interests.

2009

Erica Clemmensen and her mother, Lexia Allen ’77, announce the one-year anniversary of their Dallas store, Muzzie’s Dressy Dresses, featuring accessories and prom, pageant, after-five, party, homecoming, work and other special occasion dresses.

2011

Tate Hemingson has returned to Strasburger & Price LLP as a member of the litigation practice unit after participating in the firm’s 2010 summer associate program. In addition to his law degree, he holds a master of arts in classics and a doctor of philosophy.

Kimberly Hodgman joined Strasburger & Price LLP in October 2011 in governmental and specialty litigation practice. In summer 2010 she was in the firm’s associate program, and she has interned with several trial law firms, an international snack food company and the United States Department of Justice.
Allison Reddoch is a new associate in the specialty litigation group at law firm Strasburger & Price LLP in the Collin County (TX) office. She was in Strasburger’s 2010 summer associate program and an intern for a Dallas-based insurance law firm and the Collin County District Attorney’s office.
R. Haynes Strader Jr. began a two-year commitment with Teach for America after graduation and spent seven weeks training at Rice University in Houston. During the 2011-12 school year, he is teaching English and Language Arts to 100 sixth-graders at Summit International Preparatory in Arlington, TX, and encouraging them to stay on the path toward a college education.

Find out more about Reunion Weekend here.


2 replies on “2000-11”

Lauren Duplantis Isbell (married to Don) received an early offer to Texas Tech Medical School, and she and her family will reside in Lubbock, Texas, while she pursues her medical degree! She and her husband met at SMU in one of their engineering classes! Her husband, Don, earned an electrical engineering degree from SMU and is a software engineer for Sungard. Lauren earned a BS in management science engineering and a BS in mathematics from SMU and will now pursue her medical degree at Texas Tech. They have a 18-month-old daughter, Claire Anne.

Bryan Russell has accepted a position with Nestle USA, as Inventory Control Supervisor for Northern California. I was previously General Manager for Cellar 360, a division of Treasury Wine Estates. I will be based in San Ramon, CA.

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