Class Notes

Jessica “Jessie” Rosell, JD ’08, an attorney with Lathrop GPM, was promoted to partner. Rosell’s practice focuses on environmental, litigation and appellate matters, representing clients with administrative claims before federal and state environmental agencies, and advising clients initiating and maintaining environmental regulatory compliance programs. She joined the firm in 2008.

Ben Jackson, AB ’08, an attorney with Cohen Milstein, was named partner. Jackson is a member of the securities litigation and investor protection practice, which is based in New York City. He represents institutional and individual shareholders in lawsuits and securities class actions.

Teddy Wayne, MFAW ’07, had the rights of his new book, The Winner, acquired by Columbia Pictures. Wayne will adapt his novel for the big screen, whichfollows a law school graduate who takes a job as a tennis pro only to find himself torn between an arrangement with a sharp-tongued divorcée and falling in love with her outspoken daughter. The Winner (Harper Collins Publishers) hit the bookshelves in May. Wayne also is author of the novels The Great Man Theory, Apartment, Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Award in Fiction and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship.

Julia Fernandez-Pol, BFA ’06, had multiple works on display in the exhibition Roots, which ran from March 15–April 27 at the Atrium Gallery in St. Louis. The exhibition showcased artists originally from St. Louis who have gone on to have success around the country.

Anuk Karunaratne, BS ’05, was named senior vice president for business operations for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. He will oversee the team’s ticketing, marketing, corporate sales, broadcasting and business analytics departments. Karunaratne will also work with others across the organization to develop strategic planning functions for the team’s various business and stadium operations. Previously, he was executive vice president of business operations with the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

Diane M. Steinkamp, MBA ’04, married Darin L. Schreier on Sept. 9, 2023, in Steinkamp’s hometown of Centralia, Illinois. The couple, who live in St. Louis, honeymooned on the island of St. Lucia. Diane is a vice president and privately held investment manager at Commerce Trust, a division of Commerce Bank, and Darin is the mechanical designer manager at McClure Engineering.

Ryan Lawson, BFA ’04, was named to Architectural Digest’s AD100 2024 list, which recognizes the top talents in interior decoration, architecture and landscape design. Lawson and the interior design firm he founded in 2005 have become known for sophisticated, layered interiors that convey a sense of having been collected and refined over many years but remain unexpected and relevant.

Victoria Houseman, PhD ’04, an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, penned a biography on the classicist Edith Hamilton titled American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton (Princeton University Press, October 2023). Hamilton was the author of The Greek Way and Mythology among other works.

Karen L. Branding, MBA ’03, was named president and CEO of the Regional Business Council by its board of directors. Branding is a 13-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where she has served as senior vice president for external engagement and corporate communications. She is a member of the St. Louis Fed’s Management Committee. Before joining the St. Louis Fed in 2011, she was the associate dean of marketing and communications for WashU’s Olin Business School.

Tiffany (Spriggs) Cruz, BS ’02, JD ’08, an international employment attorney, adjunct law professor, wife and mom, received Chapman University’s (Orange County, California) prestigious 2024 Woman of Distinction Award on March 27 for exemplifying outstanding leadership, demonstrating a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women, and making meaningful contributions to Chapman University and the greater community.