Class Notes

Eric Schnall’s debut novel, I Make Envy on Your Disco (Zero Street/UNP, May 2024), has won the 2024 Barbara DiBernard Prize in Fiction. Schnall, AB ’92, is also a theatrical producer who won the Tony Award for the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the Lucille Lortel Award for Fleabag. (For more on Schnall, see the 2017 Washington Magazine article “Part of the Broadway Landscape”: https://source.washu.edu/2017/02/part-broadway-landscape/.)

Zachary Hemmelgarn, AB ’92, is director of design and projects for Cipriani. Previously, he worked for 20 years with the designer Thierry Despont in Tribeca, New York. There he was project architect for the renovation of the Hotel Ritz in Paris, along with other prominent commissions. Hemmelgarn has one son who is a junior at Skidmore College in New York.

Marc Jedel, BS ’88, wrote Pride and Principal, his 10th humorous murder mystery (BGM Press, April 2024). The book — the sixth in his Silicon Valley series — is about a fashion-backward, bumbling software engineer, reluctantly turned amateur sleuth, who is armed only with the powers of self-delusion, the complete inability to leave a coherent voicemail message, and good attention to detail. Jedel also has published an Ozarks Lake Mystery series and a Redwoods Country Mystery series. Under the pen-name Marc Wayne, he published a sci-fi thriller called Quantum Reaction.

Irene M. Nigaglioni, AB ’87, MArch ’90, was elevated to the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. AIA Fellows are recognized for achieving a standard of excellence in the profession and making a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Alexander “Alex” S. Douglas II, AB ’86, a partner with the law firm of Shuffield Lowman, has been selected for inclusion in 2024 Florida Super Lawyers. Douglas is a founding partner of the firm, which practices in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, estate planning, high net worth planning and tax law, among others.

Paula Loomis, MArch ’85, MS ’85, with The Urban Collaborative, and Matthew Freeby, AB ’82, MArch ’84, MS ’84, with Water Technology, Inc., collaborated to complete a Customer Concept Document (CCD) for the Naval Facilities Command–Atlantic. The facility — intended to train divers in advanced underwater training demands, such as those needed after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse — will feature a 55-foot-deep training pool with a ship’s half hull to simulate multiple training situations. The project was published in The Military Engineer magazine and received a Society of Military Engineers Design Award.

Leonard Chanin, JD ’84, accepted a position as chief counsel to the president of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), a Washington, D.C.–based organization that provides support and guidance to state bank commissioners throughout the country. Chanin will coordinate strategic priorities and special projects and provide strategic counsel on all components of the CSBS mission. Previously, Chanin was deputy general counsel and senior vice president at Discover Financial Services.

J. Leora Mirvish, AB ’83, was elevated to the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. AIA Fellows are recognized for achieving a standard of excellence in the profession and making a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Amy Usdin, BFA ’82, was a winner of one of the 2024 Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Awards. The awards are open to BFA and MFA alumni of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at WashU working in sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography and/or time-based media. Each winner, chosen by a faculty and alumni jury, receives $25,000 to advance their artistic practice.

Debbie Swanson, BSOT ’82, retired after 42 years as a pediatric occupational therapist. Swanson and Craig Shank moved to Denver in May where they hope to enjoy the mountain air, travel and new adventures.