Class Notes

Jeffrey S. Siegel, BSBA ’96, was named “Lawyer of the Year” and “Best Lawyer”by The Best Lawyers in America 2025 in the employment law, labor law and litigation areas. Siegel is an attorney with Morgan, Brown & Joy.

Heather Mefford, BS ’94, was awarded the American Epilepsy Society 2024 Basic Science Research Award in December 2024. It is the highest research award given by the society. Mefford, a physician-scientist at the Center for Pediatric Neurological Disease Research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has significantly advanced the understanding of the genetic causes of epilepsy, particularly in children with rare and complex forms.

Andrew Lyons, AB ’94, published his latest novel, a young adult thriller, Furies Rising (Book One: Hollow Valley, October 2024). His other novels include 2020 and Darkness in Him, which was set at a St. Louis–area university.

Edya Kalev, AB ’92, is currently living in New York City and teaching gentle self-care called The MELT Method. The care involves gentle massaging techniques along with soft tools that increases fluid flow through the body’s connective tissue, reducing pain, stiffness, stress and tension. She also taught MELT classes in Nicaragua in a retreat center designed by Wyly Brown, assistant professor of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at WashU.

Benjamin S. Abella, AB ’92, was appointed the Mount Sinai Professor and System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In this role, he has oversight responsibility for the seven emergency medicine clinical sites and two emergency medicine residency programs in the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

Thomas Velek, MA ’91, JD ’91, was recently named deputy director, programs and facilities chief for Lowndes County Recreation in Columbus, Mississippi. He oversees two athletics complexes and the recreational/athletics programs of the department. Velek coached soccer in the community for more than 20 years at the youth, competitive and high school levels before stepping down in 2022 to focus on administrative roles. He continues to serve as director of coaching for Columbus United Soccer Club, a club he helped found in 2010. 

John Kelley, AB ’91, assumed command of the 620th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in December 2023 as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. His battalion is in historic Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, and he manages approximately 500 soldiers assigned to Army reserve units stationed across the area. Kelley is honored to serve alongside two other WashU alumni, second lieutenants Sarah Xie, AB ’24, and Richard Sims, AB ’23.

Allison Harris, AB ’90, is executive director of the Institute of Judicial Administration as well as the Center for Labor and Employment Law, both at New York University School of Law where she earned a JD. She previously practiced law in the aviation and real estate fields. She is also a mom and a wife.

Edward Schwarzschild, AM ’89, PhD ’94, co-authored Job/Security: A Composite Portrait of the Expanding American Security Industry (MIT Press, August 2024). The book is a collection of candid interviews with and photographs of workers in America’s burgeoning security state, featuring workers in homeland security, border patrol and the secret service. The book led to a full-scale museum exhibition at the University Art Museum at the University at Albany. Schwarzschild is currently the director of creative writing and a fellow of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Jennifer Boylan, MA ’89, was reelected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2024 for a second term to represent House District 66 (Riverside, Barrington). Boylan has been a strong advocate for protecting the environment; mitigating the effects of climate change; and supporting common- sense gun laws, reproductive freedom and small businesses.