Class Notes

1950s

Dr. Eugene Ashby '51 (chemistry) is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at Georgia Tech and was named Chaplain of American Legion Post 109 in Hartwell, Georgia.

1960s

Michie McHardy Bissell '64 (dental hygiene) has been honored for volunteer service by the Southern Dominicans.

Dr. Herbert Marks, Jr. '64 (biology) was inducted into the Louisiana State Medical Society Hall of Fame.

1970s

Jay P. Telotte '71 (secondary education) released his latest book Movies, Modernism, and the Science Fiction Pulps from Oxford University Press.

Robert J. Barbier, J.D. '72 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Richard Dicharry '72 (political science), J.D. '75 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Mike Yenni '73 (marketing) has joined the firm Phelps Dunbar.

1980s

Lisa Trapani Shumate '80 (communication) released her books Always and Never: 20 Truths for a Happy Heart and Always and Never: The Companion Journal from Lucid Books.

Ann Maloney '84 (communication) is recipes editor of The Post.

M. Nan Alessandra, J.D. '85 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

The Rev. Thomas Greene, S.J. '86 (finance), J.D. '89 has been named the next provincial of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province by the Society of Jesus.

Philip Greene J.D. '86 received the Award for Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits at the 2019 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

The Rev. Eric Zimmer, S.J. '87 (philosophy) has been appointed as President of the University of Saint Francis.

Anne Pizziferri Benoit '88 (English) co-edited the book Leaps of Faith: Stories of Working-Class Scholars from Information Age Publishing.

Yvette Canoura '88 (communications) released her romantic suspense novel Mediterranean Sunset from HOLA Publications.

1990s

Barbara Fleischer, M.P.S. '90 has received an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

Paul Guarisco, J.D. '92 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Edward Francis '95 (communication) is director of communications and marketing at Dillard University. from the Governmental Research Association.

Erin Bolles '99 (English) is chief development officer for Catholic Charities of Baltimore.

Dr. John DePaula '99 (biology) was named the 2018 Physician of the Year at East Jefferson General Hospital.

Amy Lamarca Lyon '99 (history) was appointed associate director of the Department of Social Work at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Evans Martin McLeod, J.D. '96 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

George Mentz, J.D. '96, M.B.A. '98 has been named to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

Keith T. Vernon, J.D. '96 is a partner in the firm Timoney Knox, LLP and was named director of the firm's Washington D.C. office.

Dr. Alison Cernich '97 (psychology) was selected as deputy director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Royd Anderson '98 (english) has produced a documentary about the 1999 Mother's Day bus crash in New Orleans.

Stephen Stuart '98 (accounting) is vice president and research director of the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR). BGR earned the 2019 Most Distinguished Research Award and a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Policy Achievement

2000s

Robert LeBlanc, Jr. '00 (economics & finance) has been named the 2019 Restaurateur of the Year, Associate Member of the Year, Advocate of the Year, and Hall of Fame Inductee by the Louisiana Restaurant Association.

Gregory Ferrara '02 (political science) was appointed president and CEO of the National Grocers Association.

Melissa Sallinger '02 (mathematics) was named principal of Young Audiences Charter High School in Gretna, Louisiana.

Jeremy Ancalade (drama/ theatre) '04 is chief financial officer of Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach, California.

Philip Claverie, Jr., J.D. '04 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Pablo Gonzalez, J.D. '04 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Stuart Coleman '05 (economics), J.D./M.B.A. '08 is a partner in Lathan & Coleman, the Senior Living Development firm behind the recent renovation of a National Historic Landmark building in Heflin, Alabama, into a state-of-the-art elder care facility.

Christian Weiler, J.D. '05 has been appointed to the United States Federal Tax Court.

Bart Bacigalupi, J.D. '07 is a Recognized Lawyer in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers.

Stephanie Hilferty '07 (English & psychology) was re-elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 94.

Emily Fransen '08 (music industry studies), M.M. '13 recently published the article "Are We Producing Anxious Students?," on the Music Education Works website.

Gregory Agid '09 (music industry studies) has joined the orchestra for Grammyaward-winning singer and songwriter Michael Buble’s 2019- 2020 international tour.

Alexandra Kleinschmidt '09 (international business) leads the customs brokerage and trade advisory team at Crane Worldwide Logistics.

2010s

Juliet Meeks O'Keefe '12 (English/film) was named one of New Orleans Magazine's People to Watch for 2019. Camille Bryant, J.D. '13 was named 2019 Outstanding Young Lawyer by the National Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Division. She also received the 2019 A.P. Tureaud Award from the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Society.

Alexandra Cobb Hains, J.D. '13 has joined the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson LLP.

Aaron N. Maples, J.D. '13 has joined the law firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC in Mobile, Alabama. Kimberly McMillian '14 (music industry studies) performed at the 2019 BET Awards. Alexandria Gwyn, J.D. '16 has joined The Skillern Firm’s family law office.

Michele Pena, M.S.N. '14 is chief nursing officer at Mercy Health Saint Mary's in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Raven Richard '14 (communication) was a guest on Redwood's WRED-TV’s “What's Good from the Wood.”

Rachel Scarafia, J.D. '15 has joined the law firm of Kean Miller LLP in their New Orleans office. Claudia Carrizales, J.D. '17 has joined the law firm of Kean Miller LLP in their New Orleans office.

Dr. Sophia L. Thomas, D.N.P. '17 was elected president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Evan Cuccia, J.D. '19 has joined the firm of Phelps Dunbar.

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AFF_686950_05 CW 2019/06

Tracking Jazz HOW LOYOLA SHAPED ME

Rachel Lyons '98 (history)

32 For nearly twenty years, Lyons has maintained and grown the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive. Under her leadership, the Archive has grown from a room with a pile of boxes to a standalone facility with an extensive collection, online database, and hit boxset. Lyons recently sat down to share her experiences with Loyola, professional development, and tracking jazz.

“For the past 19 years I’ve been the Archivist for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. The job has changed over the years – responding to various needs of the collection and the organization. When I started I was in an unremarkable building with a pile of boxes. No desk, no shelves, no computer. In the intervening years we created an online catalog and greatly expanded the collection. This past year the Foundation produced a box set with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and that took up a lot of my time. It is five CDs with 53 tracks and a 140-page book with three essays and extensive liner notes. I worked on every aspect of the book and am credited as a writer and producer.

“My track at Loyola was different from most undergraduate students. I enrolled to finish my degree when I was 29. My father was a Seton Hall University and Boston College graduate, and so in many ways I was familiar with the Jesuit tradition. My advisor was Dr. David Moore and he was great in working with me as a nontraditional student. His background in American Studies created a welcoming environment for my interest in cultural history. “Much of my job these days is related to running the Archive and less about processing the collection. I still dip into a collection or part of a collection, but more and more I work to acquire collections, develop priorities, and reach out to the public. The analytical skills you learn as a history major have served me well. What’s different today is that my office is in the French Quarter, so I guess you’d say the Quarter is my campus.

“When I started at Loyola, I knew exactly what I wanted to study. I knew it was going to be history. In my first attempt at college, I always liked history but thought it was impractical. I didn’t want to teach and I didn’t want to go to law school. So I didn’t have a sense of what I would do. It took some time, but

I eventually stumbled across the museum and archive field. I don’t know why this took so long for me because I had basically grown up going to museums.

“I’m the kind of person who needs to be OK with today – so, I would say that now is my favorite time of my career. I work in a small organization (there are only ten fulltime employees at the Foundation), and I’m lucky to have the trust of my boss and a fairly creative mind. My time at Loyola helped me understand challenges and accept outcomes, not just academically but personally as well. In the academic process you learn about systems, what you need to do as a person, and what you can accept. Individual agency and discovering your limits is professionally very important.

“The best opportunity I’ve had working at the Foundation is producing Jazz Fest: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. We were on a very tight timeline and this required me to approach the project with vigor, patience, and confidence. Normally a project of this scope requires 18 to 24 months to complete, but we did it in under a year. We have enough materials to do many more box sets, and I’d love to do another one with the full two-year timeframe! The good news is the boxset went to #3 on Billboard Jazz charts and we started a second printing the week after Jazz Fest ended.

“I moved to New Orleans long before I ever thought about going back to college. I grew up in New England, and I remember buying The Wild Sounds of Allen Toussaint on LP when I was 20 years old. I am lucky that I came to Loyola already integrated into New Orleans culture. I was able to fuse my personal experience and academic training into a career here in the city. I’m very lucky to have had this experience.”