Class Notes

River Campus Undergraduate: 1980s

1980
John Scala, a broadcast meteorologist for WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pa., and a nationally recognized consultant on severe storms and weather preparedness, has been named president-elect of the National Weather Association. He is the son of Robert Scala ’58M (PhD), the president of the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s Alumni Council, and Janet Eddy Scala ’55N.

1983
Laryssa Sharvan Densmore has been selected to head Lockheed Martin’s satellite operations at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. . . . Steven Gerlach has joined the law firm of Bernstein Shur in Portland, Maine.

1984
Mark McGrath has formed Jensen McGrath Podgorny, a law firm in Research Triangle Park, N.C., specializing in catastrophic personal injury litigation. Mark and his wife, Christine, have two children, Bobby, 8, and Jason, 4, and live in Chapel Hill. He can be reached at mark@jmpattorneys.com.

1985
Brian Carso Jr. ’90 (MA), an assistant professor of history at College Misericordia in Dallas, Pa., is the author of “Whom Can We Trust Now?” The Meaning of Treason in the United States from the Revolution through the Civil War. Brian also directs the prelaw program at College Misericordia. . . . John Cigliano was promoted in April 2006 to associate professor of biology with tenure at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa., where he also directs the biodiversity and conservation biology program. He writes, “Other recent news includes being elected to the board of governors of the Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology and starting a new research program in Belize. My research is part of an international effort to study the effectiveness of the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve, which is located at the southern end of the Belize barrier reef. The primary focus of my research is determining the effectiveness of the marine reserve in protecting and replenishing Queen conch (Strombus gigas) populations. I am also interested in determining if there will be any ecosystem-wide effects in the lagoon.”

1986
Phillip Duquett is a co-owner of Premier Pastry, a bakery in Rochester.

1987
Mary Beth Bain Hynes writes, “I didn’t want to keep anyone in suspense. I won my bid to keep my seat on the Ballston town council by a whopping seven votes. I will now serve three years as only the second female town councilwoman in this rural town’s history. Nice to see that I’m putting that expensive poli-sci degree to good use!”

1988
Suzanne Romajas married Jose Antonio Ramos Jr. on August 19, 2006. Her brother, Jason Romajas, an M.B.A. student in the Simon School, was a groomsman. Among the wedding guests were Stephen ’87, ’89 (MS), ’89M (MPH) and Carrie Clark Parente ’88, ’89 (MS). Suzanne is an attorney whose practice over the past 12 years has focused on federal securities class and regulatory actions. Since June 2003, she has been an assistant chief litigation counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. . . . Brian Sweeney sends a photo of his family and writes that he has joined Microsoft in Redmond, Wash. “Looking forward to the new role and new community, but as I will be a geo-bachelor until the family joins me after the school year finishes in 2007, I’d love to use this time to reconnect with anyone in the Seattle area. E-mail: brians@microsoft.com.”

1989
Steve Sheldon and Mun Shieh ’90 send a photo and a report on their annual globetrotting expedition for 2006. Steve writes, “This year our wives met us in Central Europe, and we traveled through Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria.” The two classmates posed for a photograph in front of the famous clock in Prague.