Class Notes - 1980s

Class Notes: 1980s

1981

Marianne Schimelfenig JD became general counsel for Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She has been practicing law in higher education since 1990, most recently as general counsel for Saint Mary’s College of California. Prior to that, Schimelfenig was a trial lawyer in the office of the general counsel for the regents of the University of California.

1983

Amy Alpern JD has joined Littler Mendleson as a shareholder. She focuses primarily on litigation and has tried numerous employment cases. Before joining Littler, Alpern was a shareholder with Amburgey & Rubin.

Paul Roth BA was named Businessperson of the Year for 2007 by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his community involvement. Roth owns and operates two businesses in the Eugene-Springfield area–Roaring Rapids Pizza Company and Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park.

John Schneider Jr. BA is president of W.D. Larson Companies in Bloomington, Minnesota, a dealer network for Peterbilt trucks. He and wife Rachel, married for 20 years, have two sons, John III, 11, and Jake, 7.

Douglas Stringer JD has rejoined the office of the prosecutor as a senior trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He worked there as a trial attorney from 1997 to 2002.

1984

Kay Wakefield Abramowitz JD has been awarded a certificate in family business advising with fellow status from the Family Firm Institute. The certificate with fellow status recognizes extensive experience and commitment to the field of family business advising. In her work as attorney and shareholder at Buckley LeChevallier in Lake Oswego, Abramowitz concentrates on estate planning, estate and trust administration, entity formation, and business advising with a special focus on family-owned businesses.

Barry Paisner JD has had an article published in the New Mexico Law Review. The piece, coauthored by Michelle Haubert-Barela, is titled “Correcting the Imbalance: The New Mexico Public Employee Bargaining Act and the Statutory Rights Provided to Public Employees” and can be found in the spring 2007 (Vol. 37 No. 2) issue of the review.

Cynthia Scharf BA has been blessed with an interesting, unpredictable journey since college, one that has taken her from Moscow, working as a journalist during the Gorby era, to Washington, D.C., London, Geneva, and now New York, where she is a speechwriter for the U.N.’s top humanitarian aid official. The best part, she says, has been her companions along the way, including her husband, Vladimir, and 14-year-old daughter, Nadezhda.

Dave Tilton JD has been appointed a commissioner for the Coos-Curry Housing Authority. He has also been elected president of the Bay Area Rotary Club for 2009–10. Tilton continues his law practice in Coos Bay.

1987

Peter Meza JD has been appointed to counsel at Hogan & Hartson in the firm’s Colorado Springs office. His legal practice focuses on intellectual property matters for U.S. and international semiconductor and high-technology electronics clients.

Helen Tompkins JD has joined the Lake Oswego firm of Buckley LeChevallier as senior counsel. Her practice focuses on civil appeals and complex civil litigation cases, both commercial and consumer. A former contact hearings officer for the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, Tompkins is a member of the Oregon State Bar’s Products Liability Executive Committee and vice president of the board of directors for Pacific Youth Choir.

1988

Blair Bobier JD has joined the Reynolds Law Firm in Corvallis. He continues his work representing community groups, charter schools, and nonprofit organizations. Bobier served as media director for the Green Party’s 2004 presidential campaign and played an instrumental role in initiating the unprecedented statewide recount of presidential ballots in Ohio that year. In 1998, he was nominated as the first gubernatorial candidate of the Pacific Green Party of Oregon.

Leslie Ervin BA who lives with her husband, Chris Ervin, in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, says, “I somehow managed to retire–staying at home sure is nice!”

1989

Jacob Kosman BA and Julie Urvater CAS ‘88 live with their two children (see Births,) in Seattle, where Jacob works in software and Julie works in patent law.

David Weigel BA is living and working in Portland, for the last 10 years as vice president of marketing for Ecos, an environmental services firm. He still makes music and spends quality time with his two amazing kids.