Jeanne Gartner (C ’72) was featured in an article on the Air Force Bands website called “Celebrating Women’s History: Chief Master Sgt. Jeanne Gartner, a woman of many firsts,” which celebrated her retirement.
Tom Sweitzer (C ’94, ’11) was featured in the NPR report “Music Therapy Brings Solace to COVID-19 Patients and Healers” for his work in launching his own COVID-19 group to support COVID-19 survivors and bring healing through music therapy. (Pictured to the left.)
Julie Pentz (C ’00) published a dance textbook called “DANCE Appreciation.”
Ryan Keebaugh (C ’04) was named director of choral music and assistant professor of music for Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia. (Pictured to the right.)
“She Lives Here,” a poetry and prose book by Kristina Cotis Hamlett (AS ’05), will be released on March 15, 2021. (Pictured to the left.)
Patrick McCoy (C ’05) was a guest contributor in February 2021 for laopera.org and penned “With A Fervent Song: In The Midst Of A Global Pandemic And Racial Unrest, The Musical Stories Of Black Artists, Both Old And New, Continue To Be Sung.” McCoy was also unanimously voted in as a member of the Board of Directors of the Music Critics’ Association of North America.
Tiffany Lawrence (B ’06) was recently hired as a senior account executive at Orion Strategies in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Robert Larson (C ’08) published “Practical Jazz Piano: A Comprehensive Method,” in February 2021. (Pictured to the right.)
Smarty Pants Medicine, founded by Kelly Walsh Botta (HP ’09), won both the People’s Choice and Panel’s Choice Awards at Pitch Night 2021 at InnoVault Coworking Banking Hall on the Loudoun Street Mall in February 2021.
Patrick Ware (C ’09) was named the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.
Richard Lewellen (C ’15) co-published “The effects on acoustic voice measures and the perceived benefits of a group singing program for adults with Parkinson’s Disease,” in the Australian Journal of Voice.
Bryan Vickers (AS ’13) and Brittani Dodson Vickers (N ’15) welcomed their second child, a son named Barrett Scott, on Dec. 17, 2020. Bryan was recently promoted to corporal for the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office in Warrenton, Virginia, and Brittani recently graduated from the University of Alabama with her Master’s in Nursing. (Pictured to the left.)
Kali Tichenour (N ’18) joined the team at Shenandoah Community Health in Martinsburg, West Virginia, as a family nurse practitioner.
Wendy Johnston (C ’19) was one of two graduate students to be awarded the American Guild of Organists Student Commissioning Project grant for 2019-2020. (Pictured to the right.)
Joey Lisko (C ’19) works as a rental technician at CP Communications, a Florida-based company that provides an array of audio and video gear for CBS, NFL Network and ESPN, including equipment for Super Bowl LV in February 2021. (Pictured to the left.)
In Memoriam
Alice-Lee Whetzel Coakley (D ’41) passed away Dec. 16, 2018. She was an active member and elder of First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Alice-Lee had her private pilot’s license and was the mother of three sons.
Nancy Spraker (C ’67) passed away on Jan. 24, 2021. Nancy was an educator all of her life, working as a teacher and later an administrator. She is survived by her siblings and many nieces and nephews.
Cynthia Sensenig Coons (C ’75) passed away on March 1, 2021. She had a career as an educator and is survived by siblings, stepchildren and her cousin, Barbara.
Nancy Jean Triggs Billmyer (HP ’82) passed away on Aug. 12, 2019. She was a retired Professor of Nursing at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Nancy was a member of Strasburg Presbyterian Church in Strasburg, Virginia; the Ruritan Club; Beta Sigma Phi Sorority; Virginia Council of Associate Degree Nurse Educators and was a past Board Member of Shenandoah University. She was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce Health Services Committee, the American Lung Association and the Historical Society of Frederick County. She is survived by daughters, grandchildren and sister.
Andrea “Michelle” Tallent Mange (C ’90) passed away on Feb. 6, 2021. She was a popular and renowned dog trainer for many years and owned and operated Right Start Maryland Dog Training. Michelle is survived by her dad and her beloved dogs.
Jean Maxon Carpenter (C ’03) passed away on Feb. 23, 2021. She was a musician and a music educator. She was a member of the National Association for Music Education and its state chapters RIMEA and NYSSMA; the American College of Musicians – National Piano Guild; the American Choral Directors Association; and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and its state chapter, RINATS. She is survived by her husband; four siblings and their families and her in-law families; and her large community of students, collaborators and friends