Class News: November 2024

Welcome to the November 2024 edition of Class News, our snapshot of personal achievements and professional journeys in your alumni community.

Each month we’ll share a collection of the most recent submissions, so don’t forget to keep us up to date on your latest news.

Gatherings & Milestones

Debbie Pappas-Burback ’93 and the Pappas-Burback real estate team were recognized on the 2024 RealTrends Verified list, which identifies the top agents and teams across the industry. Pappas-Burback’s Naples-based group comprises five active, licensed real estate advisors at Compass, including her and her husband, Larry Burback.

Theresa Chu-Bermudez ’11 was selected as one of the Travel Industry 40 Under 40 leaders. This program, presented by TravelPulse, recognizes the rising stars shaping the future of travel. She started Get Out! Custom Travels in 2016 with the dream of designing transformative experiences while making the industry more sustainable and inclusive.

William Lloyd Firth ’13 wed Vanessa Gabrielle Schwartz at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, followed by a reception at the Palm Beach Yacht Club. Later, a celebration for friends was held in Washington, D.C., where the couple resides.

Founded by Johnny Nartowicz ’18 ’19MBA and Colton O’Dwyer ’19MBA, Bricks & Bowls by Ghost Kitchen Orlando was awarded Best Casual Dining in the 2024 Best of Winter Park Competition. The restaurant also placed as a finalist in the Best Place to Take a Date category.

Onward & Upward

Rebecca Charbonneau ’16 published her first book, Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain, which will be available in the U.S. in January. The book examines the Cold War-era collaboration between American and Soviet radio astronomers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, exploring the political and military contexts that shaped their work. Charbonneau is a historian at the American Institute of Physics and earned her master’s at Cambridge after graduating from Rollins.

Christine Martin ’17 was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support her education and dissertation research in the University of Miami’s Shark Research & Conservation Program. Martin, now in her second year of pursuing a PhD, focuses her research on understanding shark behavior and habitat use.

Cameron Reeves ’22 and Madi Salinas ’22 launched their pilates fashion business and brand, Pila Barre, earlier this year. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they donated hundreds of socks to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and contributed 30 percent of the proceeds from their Pila Pink sock line.

Justin Isenhour ’23, a former men’s lacrosse player, passed the August 2024 CFA Level 1 Exam. Isenhour is currently working as a financial analyst at PFM on the general municipal finance team while pursuing the next levels of the CFA program.