Class Notes

Cathy Zoi T’83, former CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit environmental organization founded by former vice president Al Gore in 2006, now serves as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the Department of Energy. President Barack Obama nominated Cathy for this position in late March 2009.  Prior to joining the alliance, Cathy spent two decades in the energy and environmental sectors in the United States and Australia, serving in leadership positions in both business and government. During the Clinton administration, she served as Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy. She also was a manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she pioneered the Energy Star Program. Visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-3-27-09/.

Michael Deane MEM’92 is now deputy executive director of strategic development for the National Association of Water Companies in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at michael@nawc.com. Visit http://www.nawc.org/.

Bill Ulfelder MEM/MF’94 is now the state director of The Nature Conservancy of New York. In his most recent post with the Conservancy, Bill served as the director of the Eastern Colorado Program. Visit http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/press/press3863.html.

Lydia A. Breunig MEM’97 and her family have recently moved to Phoenix, Ariz.

Cynthia Van Der Wiele MEM/MF’98 has been appointed as the first director of Sustainable Communities Development for Chatham County, N.C. As director, she will coordinate environmental resource planning; soil erosion and sedimentation control; central permitting; transportation; green building; and affordable housing. Prior to this appointment, she worked as an independent researcher and prepared the first State of the Parks report on the Appalachian Trail for the National Parks Conservation Association. Cynthia earned her PhD from the College of Design at N.C. State University in 2004.

Deborah Cannon Lawrence PhD’98, associate professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, has been awarded Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships for her noteworthy scientific accomplishments. She will use the scholarship funds to continue her work on the effects of “slash and burn” agriculture and land-use transitions in the tropics. Deborah also was recently named a Jefferson Science Fellow by the U.S. Department of State. Each year the Jefferson Science Fellowship program brings six to eight tenured professors of science and engineering to the State Department for one year to advise officials on science issues relating to current and emerging policy. Deborah will focus on climate change issues during her tenure. Visit: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/guggenheim_winners/lawrence_deborah.html.

Matthew Philipp MEM ’01 is working as an environmental analyst at LMI in McLean, Va. He was awarded their 2008 Infrastructure Management Project of the Year for his leadership on the Army Sustainability Report 2007, which was the first report from any major federal government agency using the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability reporting framework. He also is one of the co-authors of LMI’s recently published A Federal Leader’s Guide to Climate Change, a book designed to assist leaders of federal agencies in addressing the challenges associated with climate change. On a personal note, he and Teresa Egan of Vienna, Va. will marry in October 2009. Visit http://www.lmi.org/facilities/environment.aspx.

Meg Lawrence MEM/MA’03 and husband, Robb Lawrence MBA’03, welcomed a son, Robert S. Lawrence III (“Tripp”), on March 18.

Adrienne O. Harris MEM’05 is now working as an environmental scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Luke Jay Dollar PhD’06 and Zoe A. Forward T’95 welcomed a son, Zachary Danger Dollar, on May 4. Zach was 8 pounds and 22 inches at birth.

Mandy Schmitt MEM’06 married Sean Mahoney on May 9, and has changed her name to Mandy Mahoney. She is now the director of sustainability for the City of Atlanta. Visit http://www.atlantaga.gov/mayor/sustainability.aspx.

Wilson M. Korol MEM/MPP’07, as a Global Corporate Social Responsibility Analyst for Nortel Networks, has launched a new blog devoted to all things green in the corporate setting. Visit: http://community.nortel.com/go/blogs/greenroots.

Tracy A. Ziegler PhD’07 is now the Supervisory Marine Biologist for Everglades National Park. She is the chief scientist for all Florida Bay waters within the park, and also monitors 10 Thousand Islands within the park. Her current projects include developing an algal bloom monitoring network, writing a sea grass restoration plan, overseeing all marine recreational fisheries, and answering all other natural resource questions concerning the marine environment. In addition, Tracy manages a small marine laboratory and dormitory in Key Largo where visiting scientists come to conduct research on Florida Bay.

Zachary Eyler MEM’08 is now working for Element Markets in Houston, Texas. Visit: http://www.elementmarkets.com.