Office of Alumni Engagement Archives

Advancement & Alumni Engagement Leadership Promotions

July 10, 2025 by Guest Author

The Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement is pleased to share leadership promotions which are designed to help prepare our team to help further philanthropic and alumni engagement to the University of Mary Washington.

Mark Thaden ’02 has been promoted to Associate Vice President for Alumni and Donor Engagement. He will now oversee Alumni Engagement, Alumni and Advancement Communications and Events, and Annual Giving.
Shelby Orlando ’14 has been promoted to Executive Director of Annual and Family Giving.
Angela Zosel McCormick ’00 has been promoted to Director of Alumni & Advancement Communications; Jill Laiacona ’04 will now report to her.
Phillip Duggins has been promoted to Director of Alumni Programs, with Jessica McGraw ’07 promoted to Assistant Director of Alumni Programs, reporting to Phillip.
Beth Hunsinger ’01 has been promoted to Assistant Vice President for Development and Campaign Operations. She will lead planned, major, principal, corporate and foundation giving efforts—key to our upcoming campaign for which she will also help coordinate all communications, volunteer leadership and events.
Jeremy Vaughn ’08 was selected to serve as UMW’s Executive Director of Planned Giving, reporting to Beth.
Sophia Weldi-Miller ’22 has been promoted to a full-time role as the Advancement and Alumni Engagement Coordinator, supporting alumni engagement, donor relations and campaign operations.

All of these changes are a reflection of the departure of two long-standing Advancement team members, Jan Clarke and Catherine Seller who’s combined 30 years of service have left an indelible mark on Mary Washington and our work with our many alumni, donors and friends.

UMW Provides Career Resources, Hosts May 15 Mini-Conference for Alumni and Federal Workers

April 24, 2025 by Amy Jessee

UMW’s Center for Career and Professional Development offers a range of career resources and programs to serve alumni and the community.

Whether it’s for a first job after college or a career change, the University of Mary Washington provides a range of resources and programs for taking the next step.

With a ground-level network spanning the I-95 corridor – stretching from Fredericksburg through the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., to the state capital in Richmond, Virginia – UMW is uniquely positioned to assist government workers and contractors looking to stay employed in the area. Combined with an online support system made up of more than 45,000 alumni around the world, the connections are endless.

The University also will host a mini-conference on Thursday, May 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center to help job seekers learn to effectively communicate their experience, craft compelling résumés and tap into resources.

“We want to serve our alumni and the community around Mary Washington in a truly meaningful and positive way, and that is what this event is for,” said Assistant Director of Career Education Mary Becelia. “With options for many career paths and resources tailored to federal workers, UMW continues to be an educational resource for the local as well as the Northern Virginia region focused on meeting the needs of our community, particularly as it relates to career management in the current moment.” Read more.

UMW’s 2024 Reunion Weekend is One for the Ages

June 13, 2024 by Jill Laiacona

Edna Gooch Trudeau ’59 and Danielle DeSimone ’14 graduated 55 years apart. Yet, each returned to the University of Mary Washington’s Reunion Weekend for the same reason.

“I’ve kept in touch with friends I met here 69 years ago,” said Trudeau, tearing up as she recalled classmates she has lost over the years. But her face brightened as Ann Brooks Coutsoubinas ’59 arrived. Trudeau added, “I absolutely loved my time at Mary Washington.”

DeSimone expressed the same sentiment after reuniting with friends she met on her first night in college. “It’s so wild that it has been a decade since we graduated. We can’t wait to relive everything.”

Over 600 graduates and guests returned to the University of Mary Washington for 2024’s Reunion Weekend, May 30 through June 2. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Over 600 graduates and guests gathered for 2024’s Reunion Weekend, held May 30 through June 2. Some came with canes and walkers, while others were there with strollers in tow. Yet, everyone was excited to reconnect with the campus and each other and rediscover all the things they loved about UMW.

Kate Barbuto Charette ’04 showed her daughter around Virginia Hall. Susan Willis Tomaiko ’84 remembered the fun times she had in the Lee Hall Underground. Lorenza Amico ’79 wanted to see old friends and make new ones. And Gloria Shelton Gibson and Lin Hawkins Brannon, both 1969 graduates, stayed in their former residence, Ball Hall, which housed dozens of alumni during the weekend.

The four-day celebration featured parties and picnics, faculty lectures, campus tours, family fun, class photos, arts and culture, trolleys to downtown Fredericksburg and Carl’s for ice cream, and more. Alumni visited the academic departments where they learned, the residence halls where they lived and the favorite haunts where they made meaningful memories at Mary Washington.

“It’s fun to come back to an environment where you began as kids and left as adults,” said Jennifer Henley ’04, whose class was the last before Mary Washington became a university. The name and the campus may have changed, she said, “but the vibe is still the same.”

Read the rest of the story and see Reunion Weekend photos at Giving.umw.edu.

UMW Honors 2024 Alumni Award Recipients at Reunion Weekend

June 13, 2024 by Jill Laiacona

Jay Dugger ’90 was always ready to go toe-to-toe in debates with his political science professors. In the decade after he graduated, the scholarship and legal acumen he once showcased at Mary Washington helped him earn a law degree from the College of William and Mary, pass the bar, go into private practice, make partner and become the youngest sitting judge in Virginia.

2024 Alumni Award recipients Simran Kaur-Colbert ’11, Susan Leavitt ’83 and Jay Dugger ’90 with President Troy Paino at UMW’s Alumni Awards ceremony on June 1 during Reunion Weekend. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

“Jay has been a champion for not only what is the law, but also for the people who are impacted by those laws,” Rich Cooper ’90 said of his friend. Now the chief judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Hampton, Virginia, Dugger has helped create programs to reunify families, reduce child truancy and provide educational and behavior services to children in the delinquency system.

His support of underserved communities earned him the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Mary Washington, honoring graduates who have made significant contributions in their profession and community, while being leaders in their fields.

Nominated by Cooper – who received the same award in 2020 – and Michael Michalowicz ’90, Dugger was honored in a June 1 ceremony in Seacobeck Hall’s Weatherly Wing during Reunion Weekend. Alumni joined President Troy Paino in celebrating Dugger, Susan Leavitt ’83 and Simran Kaur-Colbert ’11, as well as Dori Eglevsky, former rector of UMW’s Board of Visitors (BOV), who was named an honorary alumna. Alumni Awards Vice President Sean Lynch ’95 announced the honorees, who were selected by the Alumni Association Board of Directors (AABOD).