Virginia Wesleyan enjoys surge as alumni ride waves of success
We feature the careers of 39 Virginia Wesleyan alumni. Those featured for interviews and photographs represent a cross section of alumni who have distinguished themselves in their occupations.
Rev. Roy P. White ’73, of Fishersville, Va., has been pastor of the 800-member Fishersville United Methodist Church since June 2004. He has been a pastor in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church for 32 years, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were Methodist ministers and his great-grandfather, who was a bishop. White received his M.Div. degree from Duke University. White’s son, Andrew ’07, is majoring in criminal justice at Virginia Wesleyan. |
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| Mary Christine Danner ’84 is a creative counselor for Earworks Recording Studio in Virginia Beach, Va., one of the top production companies in the country. She books talent for radio and TV commercials and networks such as The History Channel and has appeared on camera for local commercials. Danner also does voiceovers for companies throughout the United States, including Frontier Phones in New York. Before joining Earworks, she spent six years as a disc jockey with 106.9 FM The Fox as part of “Jeff and M.C. in the Morning.” |  |
| Julie Rose Seeber Anderson ’96, of Chesapeake, Va., is a senior vice president/loan executive for the Bank of Hampton Roads. She oversees all aspects of the bank’s lending, including supervising the real estate and loan processing departments and the lenders. Anderson has been with the Bank of Hampton Roads for seven years, following 22 years with Heritage Bank. In addition, she serves on boards for the Great Bridge/Hickory YMCA and the Chesapeake Chamber of Commerce. |  |
| David Newby ’71 was named under sheriff in the City of Chesapeake Sheriff’s Department in July 2005. His new job is the second-highest position in the department. Newby oversees the daily operations of the 352-employee department, which he joined in 1972. The department is among the top 10 in Virginia in size. |  |
| Dr. Clayton A. Finley ’85 opened his dental practice, Clayton A. Finley, DDS, in Melbourne, Fla., in 1997. He previously served as a dentist in the U.S. Navy for eight years. Finley received his dental degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1989. He moved to Florida when he was stationed in Key West. Finley also performs free dentistry for those in need through the Brevard County Health Department. |  |
| Heather Farrow ’88 graduated magna cum laude from the Medical College of Virginia in 2002 with a degree in pharmacy. She is currently the pharmacy manager at Farm Fresh’s South Independence Boulevard location in Virginia Beach, Va. Farrow has worked at Farm Fresh for 15 years and was previously a department manager at the grocery store. |  |
| Dr. Sandra West King ’90 has been a professor of entrepreneurship and organizational behavior at California State Polytechnic University – Pomona for seven years. She previously taught at Frostburg State University in Maryland. King, who owned a financial investment and securities business for 27 years, also has served as president of the International Council for Small Business, an organization that promotes worldwide entrepreneurship. She attained her master’s degree from the College of William & Mary and her Ph.D. from George Washington University. |  |
| Dr. Robert F. Saul ’72 is a neurologist with East Carolina Neurology in Greenville, N.C. He has 25 years of experience practicing and teaching in neuro-ophthalmology, is board certified in neurology and is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also a clinical associate professor at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. Before moving to Greenville last year, Saul spent five years as a faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia and 18 years practicing medicine in Pennsylvania. |  |
| Susan Luther ’86 is a senior tax accountant for Dominion Resources Services Inc. in Richmond, Va. She has worked for the company since 1998 and was previously with James River Corporation. Luther received her master’s degree in accountancy with a concentration in tax from Virginia Tech in 1988. She has also served as treasurer for the Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad Financial Assistance Committee in Chesterfield, Va., for nine years. |  |
| James Boyd ’84 is a partner in the Norfolk law firm of Boyd & Boyd P.C. Boyd joined the firm in 1987 after briefly working for a Wall Street law firm in Manhattan following his graduation from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary. His practice areas include estate administration, business law and personal injury law. Boyd has served on Virginia Wesleyan’s President’s Advisory Council since 1989 and is an adjunct professor in Regent University’s School of Law. He met his wife, Jennifer Smith Boyd ’92, at an alumni function on board The American Rover. |  |
| William Reece Jr. ’77 is an attorney who spends seven months of the year in San Antonio, Texas, and five months of the year on the Big Island of Hawaii. He has law offices in San Antonio and in Kailua, Kona, but plans to move to Hawaii full time in 2007. Reece also operates a bed and breakfast on the second floor of his law firm’s office building in San Antonio. He began his firm after briefly working as a prosecutor in the early 1980s. |  |
| Michael Kos ’86, of Chesapeake, Va., has been a senior vice president for Resource Bank in Virginia Beach, Va., for more than five years. Resource Bank is a community bank headquartered in Virginia Beach and has assets of more than $1 billion. Kos’s duties involve real estate lending and he has been Resource Bank’s leading loan officer for the past two years. Kos, who has worked in banking since college, received his MBA from Old Dominion University in 1991. |  |
| Pamela Anderson ’87, of Chesapeake, Va., is a senior stakeholder liaison with the Internal Revenue Service in Norfolk, Va. She serves as a liaison between the IRS and small business owners and organizations and self-employed taxpayers. As part of her job, Anderson conducts educational seminars and works with tax professionals. She has been with the IRS since 1987. |  |
| Gary Bonnewell ’79, of Norfolk, Va., is a certified financial planner and first vice president – wealth management for Smith Barney in Newport News, Va. Bonnewell serves on Virginia Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and received the College’s first Alumni Community Service Award in 1987. He was also president of the Alumni Council and the Marlin Athletic Club. In addition, he is a former president of the Norfolk Jaycees and chaired the International Azalea Festival in 1999. He is currently vice president of the Board of Trustees at Norfolk Collegiate School and lay leader at Ghent United Methodist Church. |  |
| Jennifer Simpson ’97, of Chesapeake, Va., is a software engineer for Zeltech Technologies LLC in Hampton, Va. They deliver leading edge technologies, state-of-the-art systems and battle-tested processes to help modernize military command and control and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations and to protect the physical and information infrastructures of the United States. She works on various Department of Defense contracts, helping to develop software used by the U.S. Air Force. Simpson has been with Zeltech for nine years. |  |
| Sarah Jones Miles ’86 and her husband, Terry, built the Midway Marina and Motel in Coinjock, N.C. in 1989 and added Crabbie’s Restaurant in 2002. The facility sits on the Intracoastal Waterway and has approximately 1,600 feet of dockage. A painter, Miles has had two one-person art shows at the World Trade Center in Norfolk, Va., and at the Dare County Arts Council in Manteo, N.C. She has also won several awards for her paintings, including the top award in the 2000 Mollie Fearing Show in Manteo. |  |
| Bryan A. White ’78 is a professor of microbiology in the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. White, who received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the Medical College of Virginia, has taught at the University of Illinois for 22 years and joined the Institute for Genomic Biology two years ago. His research at the institute focuses on molecular bioengineering of biomass conversion, one of the institute’s eight research themes. |  |
| Tassos J. Paphites ’79 is the chairman and CEO of Burgerbusters, Inc., a franchise of YUM Brand Foods. Burgerbusters owns 81 Taco Bells, Pizza Huts and KFC restaurants in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, the franchise adds two to five stores annually and sales are projected to exceed $90 million in 2006. Burgerbusters has donated a quarter of a million dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. |  |
| Donald M. Slye ’74, of Appleton, Wis., is a senior vice president for investments/ financial consultant with Smith Barney. His clients include NFL, NBA and MLB players, as well as entertainers and Olympic gold medalists. Slye spent 10 years as the pitcher for singer Michael Bolton’s charity team, the Bolton Bombers. He currently plays on a charity team run by NASCAR drivers Kurt and Kyle Busch. Also, Slye runs an independent volunteer fire department in Appleton. |  |
| Tracy Kessler-Keller ’04 is the chief executive officer of the Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast. She has worked for the Council for nearly a decade, including serving as the chief financial and technology officer. Serving 1,400 Girl Scout troops throughout southeastern Virginia and nine counties in North Carolina, the Council has a $4.5 million annual budget, 90 employees and more than 6,000 volunteers. |  |
| Scott M. Whiteman ’96 is a principal city planner for the City of Austin, Texas. He works with citizens, developers and other interested people to formulate long-range plans for the rapidly growing city. Whiteman, who earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Virginia Tech in 1999, has worked for the City of Austin for five and a half years. |  |
| Amy Gallup Klann ’89 is a patent agent for the law firm of Darby & Darby in New York City. She received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Baylor College of Medicine in 1999 and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in May 2006. She previously spent five years as a senior postdoctoral research associate at the University of Pittsburgh and was also an adjunct assistant professor of biology at Clarion University. |  |
| James Avery ’71 is a news producer with CBS News in New York. He sends news stories to every CBS affiliate in the United States, as well as to international clients and coordinates lives shots for local stations. Avery has been with CBS for 13 years. He previously spent 10 years at CNN in Atlanta and also worked at CNBC, the NBC station in Providence, R.I., and was the news director at the ABC station in Harrisburg, Pa. Avery also worked at WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Va., for 10 years. |  |
| Constance Harris ’82, of Virginia Beach, Va., teaches etiquette, manners and grooming classes and models throughout Hampton Roads. She has appeared in ads for Stein Mart, Hecht’s and Dillard’s and models at the weekly show at the Town Center City Club in Virginia Beach. Harris also works part-time in the college counseling office at Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach and serves as president of the Little Neck Circle of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. |  |
| Gail Kellington ’95, of Virginia Beach, Va., is the founder of Diversified Support Services, Inc., with offices in Norfolk and Scottsdale, Ariz. Diversified Support Services provides short- and long-term labor staffing assistance to local, state and federal governments, the power-generating industry and private businesses. |  |
| Martin J. Bohan ’88 is the president of the M.J. Bohan Company, an antiques and period jewelry business, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Bohan, who attended the Gemological Institute of America after graduating from Virginia Wesleyan, started his company in 1994 after working for Christy’s Auction House and S.H. Molinari Inc. The M.J. Bohan Company competes directly with major auction houses and deals worldwide with high-end retailers, banks, trust administrators and estate and trust attorneys. |  |
| Anthony Frank ’95 is the executive chef and director of the food and beverage department at Virginia Crossings Resort in Glen Allen, Va., where he has worked for four years. Before joining Virginia Crossings’ staff, he was the executive sous chef at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach, Va. Frank recently received the March of Dimes’ Dish of the Year Award for 2006. Frank’s wife is Elizabeth Breck Frank ’96. |  |
| Left to right: Stephanie Light Zak ’95, 2006 Teacher of the Year at Portlock Primary School in Chesapeake, Va. She teaches first grade and has taught for nine years. Heather Schweitzer ’01, 2007 Teacher of the Year at Shelton Park Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Va. She teaches language arts and has taught for six years. Kristy Reed Hannah ’02, 2006 Teacher of the Year at Greenbrier Primary School in Chesapeake, Va. She teaches first grade and has taught for five years. Deborah DeLorme ’02, 2006 Teacher of the Year at Greenbrier Middle School in Chesapeake, Va. She teaches math and has taught for four years. |  |
| Susan Jones ’75 is an artist, and along with her husband, Louis, owns the Jones Art Gallery. After 12 years in Norfolk’s Dominion Tower, the gallery moved to Virginia Beach’s Town Center in 2005. Jones describes her artistic style as a cross between impressionism and realism. Her images are sometimes soft, but are often bold to reflect the strength and perfection of nature. Her son, Ryan Jones ’99, is also an artist. The family’s paintings are on sale at the Jones Art Gallery, where they spend much of their time creating new artwork. |  |
| Steven Sheppard ’83 is the owner/president of Eagle River Mortgage in Edwards, Colo. He started the company 10 years ago after working for Dominion Bank Shares in Virginia and a bank in Seattle. Eagle River Mortgage is a resort-lending specialist, handling $27 million annually. The company services Vail Valley, Colo. Sheppard’s wife, Margery Clark Sheppard ’83, is a ski instructor in Vail. |  |
| Elliott Davis ’73 has been the solicitor general for the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice for six years. The second in command in the Department of Justice, Davis oversees all appellate representation of the government, criminal and civil appeals. He has worked for the department for more than 20 years. Before joining the justice department, Davis served as a law clerk for a Supreme Court judge for two years and was in private practice for two years. |  |
| Kevin Nickelberry ’86 is the head men’s basketball coach at Hampton University in Hampton, Va. He was previously an assistant men’s basketball coach at Clemson University for three years, where he served as the recruiting coordinator. Nickelberry has also been an assistant coach at Columbia Union College, Howard University, Monmouth University, Holy Cross College and the University of North Carolina- Charlotte. Before entering coaching 15 years ago, Nickelberry owned The Impressions Group, a public relations and marketing firm in the Washington, D.C. area. |  |
| Howard Krum ’85, of Atlanta, Ga., is the head of veterinary services and conservation medicine at the Georgia Aquarium. His department provides the primary clinical care for the aquarium’s collection of animals, which is the world’s largest zoological collection. Before joining the aquarium in 2005, Krum taught and worked at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md., and the New England Aquarium in Boston, Mass. He also taught at the University of Maryland. Krum received his master’s degree in physiology from Southern Illinois University and his veterinary medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania. |  |
| Douglas Wilson ’86, of Norfolk, Va., is the senior vice president of marketing and new development for LifeNet, the largest non-profit, full-service organ donation agency and tissue banking system in the United States. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., LifeNet was founded in 1982 and has offices throughout the country. Wilson, who was previously the administrator of a blood center, has worked at LifeNet for 15 years, beginning as a field representative in the sales department. |  |
| John Murray ’74, of Easton, Md., is the president and chief operating officer of Miles & Stockbridge, a Maryland law firm with 205 attorneys and offices in Baltimore, Towson, Columbia, Frederick, Easton, Rockville, Cambridge and Tyson’s Corner, Va. Murray joined the firm in 1982 after serving as special assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He became president of the firm in October 2001. He is also a principal in the firm’s Baltimore and Easton offices. Murray’s practice areas include land use and development, hospital law and employment law. |  |
| Cmdr. Edward A. Flint ’93 is the commanding officer of the Naval Brig in Norfolk, Va., where he has served since June 2005. Flint’s previous assignments included officer in charge, COMLANTFLT Manpower Analysis Team; administrative officer on the USS George Washington; commander, U.S. Navy Element, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE); and Officer-in- Charge Personnel Support Detachment, SHAPE. Flint, who joined the Navy in 1978, received his master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. |  |