Class Notes

Neoma Lavalle MEM’07, senior administrative coordinator for the McMurdo Station, is in Antarctica as part of Winter Fly-In. Neoma works in a building called “The Chalet” where she oversees a staff of three people. During her stay Neoma has visited Cape Evans Historic Hut and also ventured into an ice cave, which required sliding down an ice tunnel. Such caves form when the Erebus Ice Tongue is able to grow out into the sea.Write to Neoma and she’d be happy to send you a postcard from the Antarctic: Neoma Lavalle, RPSC; McMurdo Station; PSC 469 Box 700; APO AP 96599-1035. She also can receive short, plain-text messages via her pager, 661@pg.mcmurdo.usap.gov. Note that she is six hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Sylvia A. Earle PhD’66 was featured in The New York Times for her work as co-author of Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas, published recently by National Geographic. Sylvia, an oceanographer and former chief scientist of NOAA, has participated in more than
a half-century of ocean exploration and protection.

Nicholas Metes MF’73 recently retired from the Peace Corps after working for more than 25 years in international sustainable natural resource management. His work took him to Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Panama. Early in his career, Metes focused on wildlife and fisheries management, as well as environmental education. Later he focused on Peace Corps management. While in Honduras, Metes created a laboratory and developed the country’s first collection of wood-inhabiting fungi. He also taught forest pathology to local forest technicians and engineers. While in Peru, he served as an assistant manager for a $30 million natural forest management project in the Amazon. Metes believes that his Duke degree was the primary reason he was able to work for the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development at the level(s) he did.

Stephen Hale MEM’79, a recreation specialist for the U.S. Forest Service Carson Ranger District, has been awarded the American Trails’ 2008 State Trail Worker Award. The award was presented at the National American Trails Symposium in Little Rock, Ark. Stephen was cited for outstanding contributions and consistent support for trail planning and development, as well as his commitment and effort to enhance Nevada trail recreation. He can be reached at shale@fs.fed.us. Visit www.americantrails.org/awards/NTS08awards/Worker08.html.

Professional photographer Lee Krohn MEM’81 captured his community’s efforts to decorate and transport a holiday tree to Washington, D.C., in a photo exhibit at the Regional Artist Gallery at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vt., this past holiday season (www.benningtonmuseum.org/index.aspx). Lee has served the town of Manchester, Vt., in many roles over the past two decades, including planning director, zoning administrator, tree warden, E-911 coordinator, and interim town manager. Contact Lee at pianopix@sover.net. For information on his photography, visit www.leekrohnphoto.com and www.leekrohnphoto.smugmug.com.

Marc Dreyfors MEM’90 is the manager of Greenway Transit, a Durham-based eco-friendly transportation company. They offer a variety of vans and buses—great options for class field trips. Visit www.greenwayrides.com.

Steve Lindeman MEM/MF’94 has returned to Virginia as a land protection manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program. He can be reached at slindeman@tnc.org. Visit www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/virginia/
preserves/art15030.html.

Tim Pettit MEM’96 is now a principal consultant for KEMA Inc. in Fairfax, Va. He can be reached at Tim.Pettit@kema.com. Visit www.kema.com.

Julia Kertz Grant MEM/MF’98 and Thomas Grant MEM’97 welcomed their third child, Beatrice Lavin Grant, on July 31. Beatrice joins brothers Edward (5) and Louis (3). Thomas is project development specialist for Aztec Energy Partners in Boise, Idaho. Julia is working as the Foothills open space manager for the city of Boise.

Christopher Hale MEM/JD’00 has returned to the United States after a four-year stint in the attorney general’s office of the Republic of Palau (www.vpchin.com/moj/ag.php). He recently accepted a position as a federal prosecutor, based out of Washington, D.C., and is working for the environmental crimes section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Laura J. Blake MEM’01 is a senior associate for The Cadmus Group Inc. (www.cadmusgroup.com) of Watertown, Mass.
She can be reached at lblake@cadmusgroup.com.

Sarah Gindre CEM’02 can be reached at gindres@gmail.com. Her old e-mail address, gindres@yahoo.com, remains the same.

Shannon Lyons Green CEM’04 and her husband, Walter Winfield Green, joyfully announce the birth of their daughter, Kimsey Noelle, born Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008.

Johanna C. Jobin MEM’05 is now a sustainability engineer for Millipore Corp. in Billerica, Mass. She can be reached at Johanna_Jobin@millipore.com. Visit www.millipore.com/sustainability/eco3/home.

Michael Dietze PhD’06 married Beth Yanko in July 2008. He is assistant professor in the Plant Biology Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Michael can be reached at mdietze@illinois.edu. Visit www.life.uiuc.edu/dietze.

Melissa A. Kenney PhD’07 and Paul K. Gong PhD of Columbia, Md., will marry in June in the Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia. Melissa can be reached at m.kenney@jhu.edu. Visit www.MAKenney.com.

Lisa Lurie MEM’07 is working for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as a coordinator for the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance. The alliance is a collaborative effort to adopt conservation practices that improve land management in watersheds that drain to the sanctuary. The program covers 11 major watersheds across six counties, from San Luis Obispo to San Mateo. Lisa focuses on resolving conflicts that growers face between food safety and water quality. She has become involved with the Farm, Food Safety & Conservation Network to address these issues and to help settle concerns. Visit www.montereybay.noaa.gov.

Nathan Woiwode MEM/MPP’07 is working for The Nature Conservancy in Long Island, N.Y. He can be reached at nathan.woiwode@duke.edu. Visit www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/preserves/art13653.html.

Ariana Sutton-Grier PhD’08 is a Smithsonian Fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md. She is working in Pat Megonigal’s biogeochemistry lab studying carbon and iron dynamics in freshwater tidal wetlands. Visit www.duke.edu/~aes17/index.html and www.serc.si.edu/inside/06_soilturmoil.jsp.

Sharon Smith PhD’75 was named the “Godmother” of the Celebrity Solstice, a cruise ship that entered the market in 2008. She joined Celebrity Cruise executives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this past fall to name the brand’s 2,850-guest ship.
Sharon, a biological oceanographer, has traveled the world in research expeditions from polar regions to the Arabian Sea. She investigates ecosystems by looking at how ocean physics shape the availability of the food supply, and the effects of global warming on food for birds, fish, whales and other creatures. Sharon has devoted most of her career to studying some of the smallest components of food webs, with a particular focus on zooplankton. She served 15 years at the prestigious Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., studying coastal ocean environments and the impact of nuclear energy projects. In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Miami’s Rosenstial School of Marine and Atmospheric Science as a Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries. Recently, she was named dean of the undergraduate program in marine science, and also co-directs the
university’s Oceans and Human Health Center.

Deaths

Victor J. Rudolph MF’43, PhD’50, Aug. 30
Richard J. Alvis MF’49, Nov. 1
Johnson Parker PhD’50, Oct. 19