Class Notes

JIM ADDY ’55 retired as adjunct professor of United States history after 34 years of teaching at CCBC Essex, 66 years in Maryland education institutions and 10 years as mayor of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. At Essex, he received a citation as outstanding professor of social sciences.

EDDIE APPLEFELD ’70 is promotions director of WCBM Radio in Baltimore, providing entertainment features for the station and for Facebook and Instagram. He also writes a restaurant column for the Baltimore Post Examiner and hosts Eddie’s Corner on YouTube.  

STEVE MURFIN ’77 recently retired from almost three decades of coaching baseball at several levels. He was head baseball coach at Blake High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, for 19 years. The school retired his No. 3 and placed him in the Blake Athletics Ring of Honor, and he was voted into the Roy Hobbs Baseball Hall of Fame, the Cooperstown of amateur adult baseball.

RANDY GRAY ’79 wrote and published “The Adventures of Brooks and Rip,” his first youth fiction book. Gray grew up in Baltimore in the 1960s  and idolized sports figures from the Orioles and Colts. The title character in the book, a 12-year-old boy, is named after O’s legend Brooks Robinson; his loyal dog Rip is named after the Birds’ “Ironman” Cal Ripken Jr.

BILL MONTGOMERY ’84, a retired colonel in the  U.S. Army, started a new veteran-focused radio station and podcast at Harford Community College's WHFC 91.1 FM.

KAREN HENRY ’87 was appointed director of public works for Anne Arundel County. She is the first female director in the county’s history. The Department of Public Works provides services to ensure safe drinking water; to enhance wastewater treatment; to efficiently recycle, collect trash  and dispose of waste; to maintain, manage and operate the county’s road and bridge network; and maintain a high quality of life for residents and visitors.

KELLY MASON ’91 has successfully run Morningside Senior Living, one of the only women-owned and -operated senior living companies in the country for 25 years, with communities that routinely win Best Assisted Living awards. She has two teenagers and enjoys spending time outside. Mason also works with animal rescue groups and supports multiple organizations that empower disadvantaged women.

LANCE JOHNSON ’93 was inducted in the 2023 Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame on May 12. He was inducted into the Tiger Hall of Fame in 2003. Johnson was a four-year starter at sweeper. A team co-captain as a junior and a senior, he was a key performer for Towson’s three consecutive East Coast Conference championship teams.

RICHARD HOLLEY ’96 received the 2023 Eastern Province Council of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Senior Kappa Impact Award, Small Chapter Impact Award. It is given to members who have demonstrated outstanding support and contributions to senior Kappas at the province and chapter levels as well as in the community. 

KATHLEEN PEDERSEN ’97 was recently admitted to the Minnesota State Bar Association, the oldest professional association for attorneys in the state.

BENJAMIN SCHMITT ’98 was elected president of Howard County Education Association (HCEA). After 25 years as an elementary art teacher, he left the classroom to take office on Aug. 1.

LESLIE KREBS-WHITE ’99, of Westminster, Maryland, is the new Title IX coordinator at McDaniel College. She has more than 20 years of experience in both higher education and the legal system. 

CRAIG COLLINS-YOUNG ’04 was named to the steering committee of  the Irish American Baseball Society, which celebrates the contributions of Irish Americans to amateur and professional baseball. It also supports youth baseball in Ireland and America.

ERIN MAYNARD ’07 was recognized as a Health Care Hero—Nurse Practitioner of the Year by Maryland’s The Daily Record. The awards honor individuals and organizations who have made an impact on the quality of health care in Maryland. She is a nurse practitioner at the Recovery Centers of America at Bracebridge Hall.

ERIN MCMULLEN ’07 was hired to be the new chief of staff for the Maryland Department of Health.

LAURIE BERGLIE ’08 has published four equestrian fiction novels to date. The latest, “All On,” hit the shelves in September 2022. “Where the Bluegrass Grows,” “Kicking On” and “Taking Off” were published between 2016 and 2019. 

KRISTEN LOWENWIRTH FARRELL ’10 published her first children’s book, “Sweet Sounds of the Night.” The story sparks the imagination of young children up to age 6 to make nighttime noises fun.

DANIEL RENZ ’10 received the 2023 Methodist University Distinguished Young Alumni Award. It is presented to a Methodist University graduate who earned  their degree within the last 10 years for outstanding voluntary  or other public service. Renz earned a Master of Justice Administration degree in December 2014. He is also one of the first recipients of the University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security’s Global Counter-Insider Threat Professional certification.

DOMINIQUE S. BERRY ’11 has joined the Institute for Defense Analyses  (IDA) as a senior administrative specialist in the Operational Evaluation Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center.

BLYTHE MAYNARD ’11 was named interim chief executive officer of Recovery Centers of America at Bracebridge Hall. Maynard will continue to serve as director of admissions. She will lead the facility’s team of addiction professionals as they provide evidence- based substance use disorder treatment.

JESSA COULTER ’12 was named executive director of the Annapolis Immigration Justice Network. She has more than a decade of experience working with nonprofits and spent six of those years living and working in Central America.

BIANCA PINNOCK ’12 was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2024 for her work in family law and family law: arbitration and mediation.

EDWARD SLEDGE JR. ’13 released a documentary short film, “Joined by Fate,” through his production company Sledge House Media, during the Washington, D.C.-based LightReel Film Festival and at a private screening in June 2023. The short film has garnered several best documentary short film awards and official selections during its film festival run.

JASON STRUNK ’15 received his DMA in choral conducting with a cognate in musicology from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami (FL) in May 2023. He is the performing arts department chair and the director of choral and vocal studies at the Georgetown Day School of Washington, D.C.

HUNTER HAINES ’17 was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America 2024 for his work in corporate law  and mergers and acquisitions law.

JESSICA RAY ’17, MPT “MotorWeek” associate producer and online content creator, is part of public media news outlet Current’s first cohort of Rising Stars in Public Media. Cohort members work in a variety of roles at public TV and radio stations and national organizations in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The selections were made from among 238 nominations.

BRANDON K. WHARTON ’17 joined the Baltimore law firm of Gallagher Evelius and Jones LLP as an associate. Wharton’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, education law, employment law and investigations.  He is vice president on the TU Alumni Association Board of Directors.

JENNIE (HOWELL) DE LA CRUZ ’18 is a dive lead and natural resources technician II for the Samish Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources in Washington state. She performs underwater transect surveys and retrieves and deploys pH and temperature sensors  in local kelp forests to monitor long-term changes.

JUSTIN FISHER ’18 was hired as an adjunct professor at a local community college where he teaches GED and pre-GED classes from  social studies to math. He is also a real estate agent with Long and Foster.

CHELSEA MCCLURE ’19 and Julia Brandeberry developed a professional development program for pre-service teachers to aid in cultivating effective guardian–teacher relationships that included simulated interactions and a two-day learning summit where in-service teachers mentored  program participants.

WILLIAM YESKE ’19 released “Damn the Valley,”  a non-fiction military memoir about a combat deployment with the  82nd Airborne to Afghanistan where the battalion experienced a 52% casualty rate in the Argandab River Valley in 2010.