2000
Lindsay Abbate Ballotta and her husband, Ray, announce a son, William Davis, born Dec. 17, 2010. Their daughter, Caroline Leigh, is 3. The Ballottas live in Dallas.
Nichole Briscoe Bentley owns Bentley Business Consulting in Coppell, TX. After submitting a video to Verizon demonstrating the balance she strikes between caring for four sons, ages 9 to 15, and running her business, she was named “Hardest Working Small Biz Mom.” She received $5,000 and cleaning service for a year.
Glen Webb was unanimously elected to a one-year term as president of the Texas Wildlife Association at the 2011 convention in San Antonio last July 8. He is a rancher as well as owner of Glen Webb PC, a law firm in Abilene, TX.
Jason White married Kiley Crabb at Perkins Chapel Aug. 13, 2011. He is director of player personnel for the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Attending groomsmen were Brad Bader, Mike Furr, Brian Kriete and Joe Zuercher.
Lukas K. Womack with business partner Nadeem Lakhani ’98 has started a company online at www.FEELZY.net, which focuses on user privacy and anonymity. The technology captures how people feel about various web content and stores their opinions. Users can view any piece of FEELZY content, share their “feelz” and see how the rest of the world “feelz.”
01
Myesa Nichole Knox Mahoney received a Ph.D. in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine, in March 2011. She is an associate lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, where she and her husband live.
David Malcolm married Gina Lisa Andrews April 9, 2011, in Butler Chapel on the campus of Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree. He serves as an Army chaplain at Fort Bragg, NC.
David Ninh is bookings editor at Seventeen magazine in New York.
William J. Saunders pursued his Master’s degree in directing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts Film Division. In 2009 he and five others formed Anywhere Films and made “Sweet Little Lies,” which he directed; Josh Ayers ’01 was executive producer. Saunders won an Emmy award for his sports documentary “Big Charlie’s” on the NFL network. His short film “Dash Cunning” won the Audience Choice Award at the Columbia University Film Festival and received the 20th Century Fox/Farrelly Brothers Award for outstanding achievement in comedy.
Kristen Holland Shear earned a Master of Arts degree in emerging media and communications at The University of Texas at Dallas.
Jessica Shapard Thuston and Dixon Thuston ’02 welcomed a daughter, Eve Amelia, Nov. 19, 2010. Their son, Tripp, is 3. Jessica is executive editor of Southern Living magazine, and Dixon is engineering manager at Cash Acme. The Thustons live in Birmingham, AL.
02
Sonya Cole-Hamilton and her husband, Gerald, announce the birth of their second daughter, London Corie, April 14, 2011.
Charles R. (Chuck) Constant was named executive vice president of business development at the Dallas firm Capital Plan Inc., a business that enables advisers and clients to restore capitalism to insurance ownership. He was an officer and fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and his service and deployment to Kuwait and Afghanistan in 1999 and 2004 earned him five combat medals. Now a major in the U.S.A.F. Reserve, he works with Congress and the Air Force Academy as a Deputy Liaison Officer Director.
Gitanjali (Mishty) Deb and Raney LaSusa ’01 opened LaSusa & Deb PLLC, a general practice law firm in Carrollton.
Erin Hendricks joined Parker McDonald PC, where she works on cases ranging from eminent domain to personal injury. Previously she was chief of the sexual assaults crimes section of the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney, trying more than 120 jury trials.
Ludwig Otto is an entrepreneur, educator and evangelist who speaks to organizations and groups. He is chair and CEO of Franklin Education & Development, a worldwide nonprofit corporation.
Amber Aronson Parker writes and publishes children’s books through Reimann Books in North Carolina. After obtaining a second Master’s degree in 2010, she works as a human resources director in local government.
Robert Sine married Ashley Walton March 19, 2011. Peruna was at the reception.
The Rev. Michael W. Waters (M.Div. ’06) was invited to become a blogger for The Huffington Post. A recent posted article referenced Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. Church’s partnership in fall 2010 with the SMU Office of Leadership and Community Involvement. Rev. Waters is the founder and senior pastor of Joy Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dallas and a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree from Perkins School of Theology.
03
Whitney C. Aronoff is a recruiter for LivingSocial, a digital media/daily deal company based in Washington, D.C.
Dana Dieckman Cassell and her husband, Dan, announce daughter Caroline Jo’s birth May 3, 2011.
Dodee Crockett was recognized for a second year on “America’s Top 1,000 Advisors: State-by-State” list in the Feb. 21, 2011, issue of Barron’s magazine. She is a managing director-investments and wealth management advisor and has been with Merrill Lynch for 29 years.
Ashley Hamilton is youth activities manager with Disney Cruise Lines.
Rogers Healy owner/broker of Dallas-based Rogers Healy and Associates Real Estate, was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal in their 40 Under Forty list in the June 24-30, 2011, edition. He began his career while at SMU, helping students find off-campus housing. His latest endeavor is DingmanHealy.com, a residential relocation company focusing on the real estate needs of high-profile clients.
Nolan Joseph Laborde, D.D.S., graduated in May 2011 from Harvard School of Dental Medicine with a post-doctoral in periodontics. He and his wife, Elizabeth Leddy Laborde, D.D.S., live in Dallas, where he is establishing his dental practice.
John Ley has opened Two Corks and a Bottle, a Dallas winery/wine bar in Uptown. He previously worked in Development and External Affairs at SMU.
Chrissy Crawford Malone has launched a tech/art venture in New York City called LittleCollector.com to create high-quality, limited edition prints of contemporary art for children. Since graduation she has worked for the Aspen Art Museum, received a Master’s degree in international art business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, run her own art advisory company in New York and launched ArtStar.com and LittleCollector.com.
Katie Krenz Reedy has pursued a career in the pharmaceutical industry since 2003. She and her husband welcomed their first child, Bryce, in September 2010
Harry Joseph Smith III and his wife, Stephanie, became parents to Harry Joseph Smith IV March 9, 2011. They celebrated five years of marriage June 3, 2011.
04
Elizabeth Nabholtz Allen is vice president of The Weitzman Group, offering a full range of commercial real estate services. She was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal in their 40 Under Forty list in the June 24-30, 2011, edition.
Phil Carlson married Christy Noel Osborne ’09 at Trinity Church, Dallas, June 4, 2011. Both serve the SMU undergraduate population as campus ministers through the student organization and Christian campus ministry called PULSE, also known as Victory Campus Ministries.
Emily Johnson has accepted a position as a graduate assistant hall director at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX.
Keats Ellen Ryan Moeller and her husband, Darren, celebrated the birth of their first child, Reagan Elizabeth, June 5, 2011.
Karthik Rangarajan has been appointed vice president of marketing for the Irving-based EF Johnson Technologies Inc., a developer and manufacturer of communications technology for emergency responders. He has 15 years of experience in mobile technology.
Whitney Phelps-Brown Zolna and her husband, Aaron Zolna ’01, are moving to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where Aaron will fly the B2 stealth bomber for the U.S. Air Force.
05
Carl Dorvil started Group Excellence, a tutoring and mentoring company, which provides academic services to schools and community organizations. The model uses college students and young professionals as mentors who bond with students in at-risk environments. He was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal in their 40 Under Forty list in the June 24-30, 2011, edition.
Sarah Robinson Evans has started her own business in laser engraving called Sima Design in Grand Prairie, TX. Previously she was an electrical engineer at Lockheed Martin.
Margot Allen Goss is a vice president at Union Bank, N.A., after serving as assistant vice president at Amegy Bank, N.A.
Jacky Niederstadt received her M.D., graduating from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She is completing her residency in pediatrics at the University of Colorado in Denver.
Barbara R. Vance has written and illustrated Suzie Bitner Was Afraid of the Drain, a book of children’s poetry, which won the Next Generation Indie Book Finalist Award, presented to her in New York City. The poems center on a wide range of things children have to deal with.
06
Desiree Dawn Brown was promoted in April 2011 to business analysis manager at Fannie Mae in Dallas. She had been a project lead since 2008.
Courtney L. Geiger is a dentist at the newly opened Hillcrest Dental Associates in Dallas, which offers general dentistry, orofacial pain management and clinical oral and maxillofacial pathology.
Kirby Stuart is a film and television producer who most recently worked on the VH1 reality show “Football Wives.” She took a break to chair the spring 2011 fundraiser sale, Rummage Roundup, for the Junior League of Dallas.
07
Nick Aronoff works for Let’s Powwow, a location-based social media company in Beijing, China, where he lives.
Jason Coosner received the Choreography Recognition Award in March 2011 from Regional Dance America, placing him on the National Choreography Plan for his neoclassical ballet “Composition VII.”
John Holiday Jr. was an apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera last summer, working with respected conductors, directors and singers from the classical world. He placed fifth in the 42nd Annual Palm Beach Opera competition and was a semifinalist for the 2011 Dallas Opera Guild vocal competition.
John Hunninghake and his wife, Talia, welcomed daughter Jane Catherine June 17, 2011.
Eduardo Manzur and Amanda Cochran ’08 were married in Los Angeles last July.
Michael Tarwater married Julia Brewer in May 2011 in Charlotte, NC, where he is in his third year at Charlotte School of Law.
08
Sydney Anne Bridges received her M.S.N. degree from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in August 2010. She is an acute care nurse practitioner at the Debakey Heart & Vascular Center of The Methodist Hospital in Houston’s Texas Medical Center.
Breanna Gribble is a project manager/geologist at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, while pursuing a career as a modern dancer and choreographer. She is the associate artistic director of Mari Meade Dance Collective and choreographs for festivals in NYC.
09
Erica Clemmensen and her mother, Lexia Allen ’77, opened Muzzie’s Dressy Dresses, a store in Dallas featuring accessories and prom, pageant, after-five, party, homecoming, work and other special occasion dresses.
Sadia Cooper and Keith Turner ’08 were married in Houston June 25, 2011, honeymooned in Maui and returned to Houston. She works for KPMG in their advisory practice, and he is employed by Halliburton.
Emily Dawson is a research analyst for Texas Capital Bank. But she also stays busy with a new Texas nonprofit corporation, Giverosity Inc., which she and a friend started to provide a quick, easy way to donate toys to underprivileged children during the busy holiday season.
Shayna Rebecca Luza works for the Dallas Caruth Police Institute and is a volunteer for the Dallas Suicide Crisis Hotline. She married Devon Vincent Oct. 29, 2011.
Bryan Melton is a mechanical engineer with Raytheon of Richardson.
Ebonii Nelson completed her Master of Education degree in college student affairs administration at the University of Georgia and now works in the Center for Student Development at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
Andrés Ruzo, one of the recent “Faces of SMU” on the SMU website, reports from Peru that National Geographic will support his Ph.D. thesis, “The Geothermal Map of Peru,” with a $5,000 grant for field work. Because of the project’s economic and scientific significance for multiple industries, including oil and gas, mining, business and renewable energy sectors, he has been able to raise $85,500 for his study.
Gary Suderman works in Seattle as a cameraman/editor for “Penny Arcade: The Series,” a documentary-style comedy revolving around Penny Arcade, one of the most popular and longest running webcomics online. He also produces short films and writes screenplays for feature productions.
Doug Wintermute left his job as public information spokesman at Kilgore (TX) College several years ago to begin the journey toward becoming a preacher. He became an ordained minister in The United Methodist Church in spring 2011.
10
Elisabeth Brubaker moved to New York City and joined the “Piers Morgan Tonight” team at CNN.
Jacqueline Conley and Brandon Allen were married June 11, 2011, at Highland Park (TX) United Methodist Church. She is an attorney at Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant LLP, and he is a financial analyst at Transwestern Commercial Services
Bavand Karim has been a producer for Mother Earth News Radio, a nationally syndicated radio program, and an associate producer of Dig in DFW, an organic lifestyle program for television. In July 2011 he was hired by Northern Kentucky University as a lecturer of electronic media and broadcasting in the College of Informatics. His keystone film, “Nation of Exiles,” has been screened at more than a dozen festivals in four countries, and he plans to expand the film to encompass social movements throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Lauryn E. May started law school last August at Columbia University.
Jonathan P. Miller was an honor graduate from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
Linh Nguyen moved from her position at Perkins School of Theology in public affairs and academic services to assistant director of direct marketing communications in SMU’s division of Development and External Affairs. She also will help manage the alumni website content and social media sites to promote events.
Robert Nitsche is the new CEO at Insurance Network of Texas, one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the state. He grew up in the company, moving from the mailroom to COO and CFO to CEO.
Frank Sciuto and Bailey McGuire ’07 started Trinity West Ventures and opened their first franchise restaurant, MOOYAH, in June 2010 in Burleson, TX, near Fort Worth. Running MOOYAH together is what prompted the brothers-in-law to reunite their families in Texas.
11
Taylor Holden is working for ESPN in New York City.