Class Notes

Lori Apfel Cardeli, AR04, launched LACArch in June 2021. LACArch is a full-service architectural design firm with a focus on the design, project management and construction of single-family custom homes, renovations and additions. Her website is LACArch.com. She and her husband, Seth Cardeli, LA04, and their two children live in Rockville, Md.

Pamela Hongisto, LA03, retired in May 2021.

Jim Watson, LW98, retired in early 2022 after 21 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his last seven years with the FBI, Watson served as general counsel in Indiana. In May 2022, he joined Ice Miller, LLC as a partner, concentrating his practice on cybersecurity, data privacy and investigations.

Sara (Beatty) Ratner, LA97, president of Nomi Health’s government program business across the country, oversees efforts to take action on health-care spending data, run payments more directly and expand access to care to communities most in need.

James Gilchrist, EN97, the Ruth H. and Sam Madrid Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Lehigh University, was named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering.

Daniel Messeloff, LA96, a partner at Tucker Ellis LLP, was selected for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of employment law, management and litigation, and labor and employment.

D. Mara Lowenstein, LW96, was named the head of legal affairs for Beacon Platform Inc., a Wall Street firm that helps companies unlock the potential of modern technology. Lowenstein and her husband, Martin Schmaltz, a professor, live with their two dogs in Boston.

Qiu Xiaolong, GR92, GR94, received the 2022 Tradition of Literary Excellence Award, funded by the Municipal Commission on Arts & Letters of University City, Mo. A mystery writer, poet, translator and critic, Xiaolong has written 14 novels in his award-winning Inspector Chen series, which has been praised for its accurate portrayal of contemporary life in China.

Birgit Lennertz Sarrimanolis, GR92, authored a memoir, Transplanted (Cirque Press, 2022), which chronicles the trials of battling cancer against the backdrop of Alaska’s northern landscape. Her work has also appeared in Cirque Journal, Five on the Fifth, 49 Writers, Shark Reef and Medicine and Meaning. She lives in Alaska where she writes overlooking the Tanana Valley.

Beth Hendler-Grunt, BU92, the founder and president of Next Great Step, penned The Next Great Step: The Parents’ Guide to Launching Your New Grad Into a Career(Merack Publishing, September 2022). As the mom of a recent college graduate and a college sophomore, she has firsthand experience. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.