Alumnotes

Alumnotes McGill University

| Skip to search Skip to navigation Skip to page content

User Tools (skip):

Sign in | Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Sister Sites: McGill website | myMcGill

McGill News
ALUMNI QUARTERLY - winter 2008
McGill News cover

| Help
Page Options (skip): Larger
Home > McGill News > 2003 > Spring 2003 > Alumnotes

Alumnotes

Arts

RAE (TUCKER) RAMBALLY, BA'59, MSW'74, spent the last phase of her career as a lecturer in social work at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, in Barbados. She retired and had her book, Practice Imperfect: Reflections on a Career in Social Work, published by Shoreline Press in 2002. It's an autobiographical work about her career in England, Canada and the Caribbean.

SHERRILL E. GRACE, MA'70, PhD'74, Professor of English at UBC and Senior Fellow, Green College, UBC, has had her 13th book, Canada and the Idea of North, published by McGill-Queen's University Press. She has been named Brenda and David McLean Chair in Canadian Studies at UBC for the years 2003 to 2005.

CHRISTOPHER LAXTON, BA'81, is the new executive director of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Chris has over 21 years of experience in non-profit leadership, with 17 of those spent working for health care associations. Prior to joining AADE, Chris served as executive director for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Before that, he held leadership positions at the National Association for Home Care and the American Anthropological Association.

VALERIE LYNN HANNA, BA'83, lives in Los Angeles, Calif. She is a licensed attorney in the province of Ontario and the state of California. Valerie is with the Boesch Law Group (see Boeschlawgroup.com).

TAZIM R. KASSAM, BA'83, PhD'93, is associate professor of religion in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. She was profiled in the winter issue of Syracuse University Magazine. Tazim is a historian of religions, specializing in the Islamic tradition. In her book, Songs of Wisdom and Circles of Dance, she explores the origins and creative synthesis of Hindu-Muslim ideas expressed in the song tradition of the Ismaili Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. Her awards include fellowships from the Social Science Research Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also pursues interests in Indian classical vocal music, using learning technologies in the classroom, and doing community service.

GERALD KRISA, BA'84, moved to Wilmington, Ohio, to join R+L Carriers Inc. as Vice-President of Safety.

KRISTIAN GRAVENOR, BA'86, is the author of the recently published book, Montreal: The Unknown City. Kristian reports it is selling well.

ANDREW LONDON, BA'86, is senior research associate at the Center for Policy Research and associate professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He has received media attention recently for several articles and reports.

CAMERON CLAYTON, BA'87, MBA'91, says, "Wanted: The Haunted House pinball machine from Gardner student residence that ate so many of my quarters in the winter of 1984. Sometimes we don't realize how important a relationship is...sometimes it takes 18 years and some sober reflection on times past to realize the truth. So it is with me. I have forsaken an important relationship that I developed at McGill and it is time to make amends. I must find that pinball machine that helped me to squander so much time and money that fall semester. Its name was The Haunted House and I am offering a substantial reward for information leading to our long overdue reunion."

CAROL DEVINE, BA'89, returned from Australia in 2001 after working for two years in the Diplomacy Training Program created by Nobel laureate José Ramos-Horta at the University of New South Wales. She started working again for Médecins Sans Frontières Canada until the birth of her son, Sasha. Carol is Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Access to Essential Medicines Campaign Liaison for MSF. Recently her small press, Vauve Press, published a second non-fiction work, Irma, the biography of a remarkable Estonian-Canadian woman, Irma Kalmet. Carol lives in Toronto with her family. She can be reached at devine@eol.ca.

RICHARD PRIDHAM, BA'89, established a consulting practice specializing in customer loyalty management and relationship mar-keting.

NADIR AHMAD, BA'93, is doing his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich. He is planning on a head and neck cancer surgery fellowship. Nadir recently took the year off to travel. He visited Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

VANESSA AVERY-WALL, BA'93, after completing a second master's at Yale Divinity School, teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. She also acts as a consultant on religious diversity issues for corporate managers and health care providers. Vanessa lives in New Haven with her husband, Craig Wall.

JORDANA KANEE SIGNER, BA'93, graduated from the University of Southern California with a PhD in Communication. Her dissertation was titled Leading Change Initiatives: Communication and Bounded Agency in a Health Care Organization.

ADELIA (CELLINI) LINECKER, BA'93, obtained a graduate degree in journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto in 1995. Adelia was married in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles, Calif. She is a reporter for Investor's Business Daily. She and her husband, Anton, have a son named Michael Peter, who was born in September 2002.

JEFFREY PERCIVAL, BA'93, and his wife, Karyn, had their first child, Calum Alexander, in November 2002 in Oakville, Ont.

SUZANNE SLINN-HIGGINS, BA'93, received an MA in Comparative Literary Studies from Carleton University in 1996. She is a public relations specialist and lives in Seattle, Wash. Suzanne is engaged to Steven Lee, who is a pilot. They are moving to Oahu, Hawaii, this year.

WILSON RICARTE, BA'95, recently moved back to Montreal after living in Calgary and Ottawa for three and two years, respectively. He currently works as a quality assurance manager for an electronics contract manufacturing company, but will soon be immigrating to the United States to work in the quality assurance field.

CARRIE LEE CHUNG, BA'96, was married to Xavier Furtado in October 2002 in Jordan, Ont., after a long courtship that took them to several countries in Southeast Asia. Carrie Lee and Xavier recently bought a house in Ottawa, where Carrie Lee is employed as a Program Officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

JENNIFER S. HUNTER, BA'96, MSc'99, married Jamey Rosen in October 2002 in Toronto. Jennifer is living in Guelph, Ont., and working as a speech pathologist at Saint Joseph's Hospital.

FRANçOIS M. NABWANGU, BA'96, is practising law in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is partner in the law firm of Moore & Nabwangu PLC. François married Robyn McCoy and says they are doing well. He would like to say hi to all his friends back home.

JODY S. REESE, BA'96, worked for an Eastern Kentucky newspaper. He then started his own newspaper in New Hampshire. Jody says it has been very successful.

DUSTIN T. REID, BA'97, spent a year and a half in the New York area working for UBS Warburg as Associate Director, Currency Strategy. Dustin is presently enrolled in the MBA program at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He can be reached at DReid.mba2004@ivey.ca.

ERIC SCHATTEN, BA'97, moved from New York City to Washington, D.C., where he is working for the Congressional Budget Office forecasting federal interest costs. He can be reached at eschatten@hotmail.com.

TARA NEWELL, BA'98, and JAMES CADDELL, BA'97, were married in a small family ceremony in July 2002 in London, Ont. After honeymooning in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the couple returned to their home in Ottawa.

SIOBHAN HARTY, PhD'99, was a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University before taking up a post in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth. Siobhan spent two years researching and lecturing on nationalism and citizenship in a town famous for its strong Welsh nationalism. She and her husband, Russell Green, had a daughter, Mairéad (a Valentine's Day baby!), while in Wales but have decided to raise her in Ottawa, where Siobhan is now senior policy analyst with the Strategic Policy Branch of Human Resources Development Canada.

JAIME LIM, BA'00, spent the 2001-2002 academic year as a Health Policy Research Assistant to Professor Antonia Maioni, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. Jaime is a grad student at Carleton in public policy and administration. Jaime hopes to do a co-op at Health Canada next September. Upon completion of her MA, she hopes to start a career with Health Canada as a health policy analyst. Any classmates who wish to keep in touch can do so at j_lim22@yahoo.ca.

SEAN BARRETT, BA'01, is a second-year law student at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Dentistry

NOAH ZACHARIN, BSc'81, DDS'83, released two new CDs of original music, crow dark wind and Big Daddy Z. He maintains an active schedule of performances, mostly in Toronto where he has been living since 1987, but also in locales as unlikely as Bermuda, and continues to provide musical contributions and production services for many songwriters and musicians in town. Updates on his career as well as sound samples from his five recordings are available at www.noahsong.com. Noah continues to work part-time as a dentist at Regent Park Community Health Centre in downtown Toronto.

Engineering

GEORGE CARTER, BEng'52, was playing captain of the 80-years-and-over Tennis Canada team in the World Team Tennis matches in Austria in September. He returned to attend the 50th anniversary Engineering Class of '52 dinner, where he and his wife Jean celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary.

CHRIS HAMPSON, BEng'52, retired as an Executive Director of ICI in the UK in 1994, and has since served on several UK and Canadian boards of directors.

GRAHAM MACHUTCHIN, BEng'52, and partners are developing a 225-home project in San Diego, Calif.

JIM PARSONS, BEng'52, and his wife own and operate a cruise agency called Parsons Cruises in Greenville, South Carolina.

GERARD ROY, BEng'52, is a lecturer at the McGill Institute for Learning in Retirement.

JOHN WHEELWRIGHT, BEng'52, works two days a week at Wheelwright Construction in Toronto, now managed by his daughter.

PHILIPPE BIELER, BEng'55, says that the email card from MIKE CROMBIE, BCom'56, reminded him that he's moved much too far away from his McGill roots. That snowy picture of the Roddick Gate brought a nice warm memory of those great days on the campus. Fortunately, he couldn't see the Engineering building, which might have brought some less pleasant thoughts. Philippe and his wife live in the South of France in an old house surrounded by vineyards and say, "If ever any of you are visiting the area please make sure to at least ring us at 011 33 4 98 05 25 85." He can be contacted at philippe@routas.com.

ERIC DUBOIS, BEng'72, MEng'74, has been elected a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada.

PATRICK DOYON, BEng'92, MSc'96, was working as product marketing and sales director for a Canadian telecommunications company, and is now spearheading a management consulting engagement in Europe for the Technical Sales organization of Cisco Systems.

GREG SHRON, BSc(Arch)'94, BArch'95, and SAMANTHA PALMISANO, BA'93, want everyone to know that Miriam Ruth Shron was born in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., and they say that she is "the most beautiful thing either of them has ever seen." The family can always be reached at samandgreg@onedin.com.

MARC R. HUTNER, BSc'96, BEng'98, graduated in September 2002 from Tufts University with an MScEM. He is presently living and working in Boston, Mass., as an Analog ASIC designer.

SAKAMON DEVAHASTIN, MEng'97, PhD'01, is Lecturer of Food Engineering at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi in Bangkok, Thailand. He is also Assistant Editor of Drying Technology -- An International Journal. He can be reached at sakamon.dev@kmutt.ac.th.

PIERRE LINH RAOUL, BEng'99, lives in Paris and works for Bouygues Offshore, which has become SAIPEM, a subsidiary of the ENI Group. Pierre says oil and energy engineering is definitely an interesting field. Pierre and his girlfriend, ROCHELLE DE GOIAS, BA'01, were together in Paris but, unfortunately, they were unable to obtain working papers for Rochelle so she had to go back home after ten months. They are hoping to get back together in Paris soon. They invite anyone who comes to Paris to contact them at pierre-linh.raoul@saipem-sa.com.

Health Sciences

SAMARTHJI LAL, DipPsych'67, professor of psychiatry at McGill and Director of the Centre for Research in Schizophrenia, began his research on apomorphine in 1965, research that continues to this day. Samarthji is author or co-author of more than 190 publications. He was the recipient of the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP) Heinz Lehmann Award in 1986 and the Joey and Toby Tannenbaum Distinguished Scientist Award for Schizophrenia Research in 1997. Samarthji has been awarded the 2002 CCNP Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award.

MASON DURIE, DipPsych'70, was appointed Inaugural Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori) at Massey University in New Zealand. Mason will also continue in another new role, as professor of Maori Research Development. He is involved in several major Maori research and development programs, including the national child nutrition study and an international mental health prevalence study. In recognition of his research and publications, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1995. In 2001 he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

SYLVESTER R. BRAITHWAITE, MDCM'78, has been a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Adolescent Health Care, and has made it his commitment to help find a solution to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. He is author of Teen Spirit, a book for parents, and creator of Edu-Tainment, a seminar to educate and enlighten audiences regarding medical issues affecting teens. Sylvester practises in Miami.

RICHARD REEVES, MDCM'78, is Executive Director, Department of Clinical Discovery, at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Princeton, N.J. Richard is responsible for clinical pharmacology programs for metabolic drugs. He and his wife, JOYCE F. SCHNEIDERMAN, MDCM'79, and their two sons reside in Pennington, N.J.

CÉDRIC BISSON, MDCM'91, joined MSBi Capital as a partner in charge of Life Sciences. MSBi is a provider of seed and early stage venture capital for the commercialization of innovations in life sciences, information technology and the physical sciences. Prior to joining MSBi, Cédric was an associate principal at McKinsey and Company, a leading global management consulting firm. He was based in Montreal, with previous appointments in New York City and Paris.

ROBERT STEVENSON, BScTR'93, and his wife had their first child, Noah Armand, in November 2002. Robert says the baby is in great health and they are enjoying being new parents. Having missed the last reunion, Robert is looking forward to the next one. He says he would love to hear from his classmates and catch up on how everyone is doing. He can be reached at robert.stevenson@sbcglobal.net.

Law

CLÉMENT GASCON, BCL'81, a été nommé juge à la Cour Supérieure du Québec pour le district de Montréal par le Ministre de la Justice et Procureur-Général du Canada, l'honorable Martin Cauchon. Clément a été membre du cabinet Heenan Blaikie de Montréal durant toute sa carrière d'avocat; il en était associé depuis 1989. Il se spécialisait dans le domaine du contentieux civil et commercial. Clément a enseigné au Barreau du Québec, et à la Faculté des sciences comptables de l'Université du Québec à Montréal. Il est marié à Marie-Michelle Lavigne et père de trois enfants, Jean-Christophe, Charles-Eric et Stéphanie.

SHARON G. DRUKER, BCL'85, LLB'85, and E. LESLIE GROSZMAN, BSc'72, BCL'76, LLB'77, are pleased to announce the fast-track admission to the family firm of new junior partner Zechariah (Zachary) Avraham Yaakov Groszman in September 2002 and the resulting promotion of junior partner Rivkah Leah Michal Groszman to Big Sister status. Sharon is currently on maternity leave from the Montreal office of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, which she joined as a partner in its Business Law group as of January 2002.

CLAUDE DEMERS, BCL'90, LLB'90, worked for four years at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He is presently Second Secretary at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Claude works as a Trade Commissioner, with specific responsibility for the information technology and telecommunications sectors.

BRYAN C. HAYNES, BA'90, LLB'93, is a partner in the law firm of Bennett Jones LLP. Bryan practises corporate/commercial law with an emphasis on private mergers and acquisitions and commercial transactions. Bryan is serving a two-year term as President of the McGill Alumni Association of Southern Alberta. Bryan and his spouse, Claire, and two daughters, Stephanie and Elisabeth, reside in southwest Calgary.

Library and Information Studies

ZAHRA M. (JANMOHAMED) BAIRD, BEd'95, MLIS'97, a children's librarian at the Scarsdale Public Library in Westchester, N.Y., has been awarded the NMRT/JanWay Excellence Award by the New York Library Association in recognition of her outstanding contributions, leadership, unwavering dedication and significant involvement in the field of librarianship during the early stages of her career. Her husband, TIMOTHY A. BAIRD, BA'96, MLIS'98, Adult Services Librarian at the White Plains Public Library, is president of NYLA's New Members Round Table. The librarians Baird celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary last year and can be reached at tbaird@wppl.lib.ny.us and zbaird@westchesterlibraries.org.

Management

VICTOR J. E. JONES, BSc'71, MBA'75, was appointed President of the British Columbia Advanced Systems Institute. Please see www.asi.bc.ca.

CLAUDE BROSSEAU, MBA'82, is Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Architectural Sector at SICO. He was previously Vice-President, Professional Sales, and is now in charge of sales and marketing for all SICO architectural coatings marketed to retail customers and professional painters across Canada.

CHARLES THURBER, BCom'87, is living in Illinois and will complete his MBA at Keller University in April.

ANNETTE G. DUPRé, BCom'89, received an MBA in Finance from HEC in 1996, DESS Comptabilité de Management in 2002 from UQAM and the CMA designation in 2002. Annette's recent professional history with ABB includes: Senior Financial Analyst in 1999, Manager of Treasury in 2000 and Treasurer in 2002.

SARKIS YACOUBIAN, MBA'89, has owned and managed a business in Cuba for the past nine years. His head office is in Toronto. Sarkis's Cuban offices are in Havana, Varadero and Santiago de Cuba, where he deals in equipment, engines and spare parts for manufacturing, transportation and construction. His email address is sarkis@icii.ca.

NAVAID MANSURI, BCom'95, moved to Toronto and is working at Bell ExpressVu. He is married with two children.

JASIE LEEKHA, BCom'97, after four years of working in finance and technology in New York and San Francisco, took nine months off to travel the world and study Spanish in South America, Mexico and Spain. He started working towards his MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 2002.

RYAN DEANE, BCom'99, and NANCY GRAHAM, BA'98, were engaged on New Year's Eve on the beach in Santa Cruz, Calif. They are living in Silicon Valley and say the big day is planned for summer 2003 back in Canada.

CHING SHAN SHANNON WU, BCom'99, says she was on her way to a 2003 New Year's Eve party in New York City when she came across another McGill alumnus who also worked in NYC, and in another part of Asia where Shannon is currently living. She says it was great to meet people who share the same background and advises, "Don't be shy to give a nice smile to the person next to you!"

MELANIE (SOUMIS-PILON) TATUTA, BCom'00, and Daniel Tatuta are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter, Alexia Stefanie Helene, in Calhoun, Georgia, in June 2002. They live in Dacula, Georgia, where they have bought their first home.

JOANN CRICHLOW, MMgmt'02, joined the Church Council on Justice and Corrections as Co-Executive Director, Projects, Adminis-tration, Finance. Besides taking a lead in the coalition's home-based operations, she will play a key role in project development. JoAnn studied public administration at Carleton University for one year and graduated with a Master's in Sociology from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Music

STEVE HOLT, BMus'81, won an Honorable Mention in this year's USA Songwriting Competition, the world's leading songwriting contest, featuring songwriters, composers and recording artists from around the globe. Judges include representatives from Warner Music, Disney Music Publishing and Sony Music. Steve won the prize for his song entitled Soon, released on his recent CD, The Dream. The CD is Steve's first recording as a vocalist and songwriter. Previous recordings featured him as a jazz pianist and composer. Steve was a top-ranked Bay Street analyst specializing in entertainment and consumer companies while he built a reputation as a renowned jazz pianist. Steve has left Bay Street and crossed over from jazz into adult contemporary pop music.

SONIA LEE, LMus'00, MMus'01, recently appeared as a harpsichord soloist in the 10th Annual Fall Festival of Early Music presented by Early Music Colorado in the United States. She is working towards a doctoral degree in harpsichord performance at the University of Illinois. Please drop her a line at sonialee@uiuc.edu.

Science

JOSEPH-CHRISTOS KONDYLAKIS, MSc'78, says friends may find some of his science articles interesting. See www.ncmr.gr.

GINETTE LAJOIE, MSc'78, a été elue présidente de l'AQEI (Association québécoise pour l'étude d'impacts). Notre association est affiliée à IAIA (International Association of Impact Assessment).

LOUIS TAILLEFER, BSc'82, a quitté l'Université de Toronto pour joindre les rangs de l'équipe du Département de physique, à la Faculté des sciences de l'Université de Sherbrooke. À titre de directeur du programme en supraconductivité de l'Institut canadien de recherches avancées depuis 1998, Louis coordonne les travaux des 30 meilleurs chercheurs canadiens dans le domaine. Louis dit qu'il est heureux de retrouver les Cantons de l'Est où, adolescent, il a passé de nombreux étés sur la terre familiale avec ses parents. Son épouse, architecte de profession, est originaire de Sherbrooke et tous les deux ont choisi cette ville parce qu'ils souhaitent offrir un éducation particulière à leurs enfants.

PHILIPPE GROS, PhD'83, and Dr. Silvia Vidal, investigators with the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network, have identified a gene (Naip5) that makes mice resistant to infection from Legionella bacteria. The study was published in the January 2003 issue of Nature Genetics.

STEPHEN KOTLER, BSc'87, DPA'92, has been promoted to Principal of MAGE LLC, a strategic, organizational development, change management and financial services firm, in Needham, Mass. Stephen, who joined MAGE in 1999 as a senior consultant, is an integral part of the Financial Services Group and also possesses expertise in information technology solutions which increase the operational efficiency and profitability of businesses.

FIONA DOETSCH, BSc'93, was awarded a 2002-2003 fellowship by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. During her fellowship year, Fiona will investigate the control of stem cells and their progeny in the adult mammalian brain at the molecular and cellular levels.

KERRY LAKE, BSc'93, met Paul Arkinstall while on vacation in Australia in 1997. They were married in September 2001 and are expecting their first baby boy! She works as a manufacturing engineer in new product development for Stryker Instruments, an international medical device manufacturer.

G. ANDREW WORK, BSc'94, is running his own business importing natural products to Hong Kong. He and his wife, Alisha Ma, just had their first child, Victoria Karen. Aside from work and family, he is still an avid Ultimate player.

RISA TORKIN, BA'96, BSc'97, and JEFFREY TORKIN, BSc'98, were recently married in Toronto, where they now reside. Jeff is completing a JD/MBA degree at the University of Toronto and Risa is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

CONSTATINE (DEAN) KARVELLAS, BSc'97, obtained a medical degree from the University of Alberta. Dean is currently in an internal medicine residency at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

STEPHANE LEFRANçOIS, BSc'97, married MARIA ANTONIETTA DAVOLI, BSc'97, MSc'99. They are living in Rockville, Md., where Stephane is a postdoctoral fellow at the Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch of the National Institutes of Health.

Social Work

ROANNE WEISMAN, BSW'74, has written a book with Dr. Brian Berman entitled Own Your Health: Choosing the Best from Alternative and Conventional Medicine. The book is published by HCI Books. For more information see: http://hcibooks.com/book-description.asp? BookID=536.

JACQUELINE MCDONNELL, BSW'83, worked as a youth court delegate for Ville Marie Court Services, then took a sabbatical to acquire her master's in California. She joined corporate America in the U.S., working for USAir in operations and at McDonald's Corporation headquarters in human resources. She completed an MBA and joined Arthur Andersen as a senior manager of corporate human resources and went on to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as associate director of recruitment and retention. Jacqueline is now at Siemens Building Technologies as the national recruiting services director responsible for all of the U.S. and Canada. Jacqueline has five children, four girls and one boy.

view sidebar content | back to top of page

Search