Class Notes

Karen Anne (Soberg) Wallach, BU98, completed her PhD in marketing at Emory University Goizueta Business School in spring 2021. Her research focused on the intersection of branding and corporate social responsibility/sustainability. Prior to joining the doctoral program, Wallach worked in brand management, product development, advertising and market research.

David Sacks, LA98, recently launched Chicago-based Architectural Consulting & Forensics, PLL. The firm consults on enclosures for buildings as well as forensic investigation and repair design for existing buildings.

Ivan Lujan, LA98, reached a major milestone in his career on July 1, 2020, when he was admitted to the PwC LLP partnership. An assurance partner based in the firm’s Raleigh, N.C., office, Lujan lives in the  capital city with his wife, Melissa, and their daughters, Ema and Elyse.

Jennifer Keefe, LA98, is executive director of Sheldrake Environmental Center, Larchmont, N.Y. Keefe writes that she is privileged to be a steward of a small piece of the natural resources that have provided much-needed solace and stimulation during the pandemic and increased our connectedness to the planet and each other.

Dianne Chong, SI98, was named to the inaugural class of the Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fame by the Women in Manufacturing Association. The inductees were chosen for their significant contributions to the advancement of women in manufacturing. Chong, who is retired from Boeing, is vice president of the board of directors of SME (formerly the Society of Manufacturing Engineers). [See pg. 46 for a profile on Chong.]

Deborah Patterson, HA97, was elected to the Oregon State Senate (District 10) in 2020 and named chair of the Senate Health Committee. Patterson writes that she is grateful to WashU for the opportunities she has had in health care over the years and is looking forward to this new challenge.

Mark Pankoff, GA97, SI98, was promoted to executive vice president of the financial firm Wellington Shields & Co. In his free time, Pankoff and his wife, Rebecca, keep busy with their quartet of 5-year-old to 10-year-old children. In 2020 Pankoff coached his son’s squirt hockey team to a championship, lowered his golf handicap and mastered the fine art of creating French braids. 

Ron Eisenstein, LA97, co-founded The Solas Group, which was recognized by Tableau Software as the leader in fundraising analytics. Solas presented with its client, University of California, Berkeley, which raised a school record of $1B+ last year, at Tableau’s Higher Education Summit in December 2020.

Mark Pottinger, LA95, is associate professor of musicology and chair of the Department of Music and Theater at Manhattan College in New York City. The department recently implemented a new program in sound studies that combines the science of sound — acoustics, sound production and digital audio recording — with music theory and musicology.

Carlos Narváez-Hasfura, GL95, GL97, managing partner of Jurídicanh Abogados in Mexico, was recently named president of the Iberoamerican Association of Privacy Law.