54 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES Eric Varady has my favorite kind of news—a Lehigh family update! His son, Windsor Varady ’29, started at Lehigh in the fall in the computer science and business (CSB) program, following in the footsteps of his grandfather John Varady ’65 MBA’70 and Eric himself ’96 MBA’99. Windsor is excited to begin his Lehigh journey, and his younger brother Spencer is already thinking about possibly joining the Class of ’32. The Varady family has lived in Newtown, Pa., for the past 20 years, and they attended a freshman sendoff in Cape May. Eric also reminded me that it’s time to start planning our 30th reunion! If anyone wants to help organize or brainstorm ideas, please reach out. I’m also thrilled that other Lehigh friends have first-years on campus: Jemma Meadows, daughter of Dave Meadows and Tricia (Wandrie) Meadows ’97, is moving into Old South Mountain, as is Benjamin Stannard, son of Andi and Matt ’98 Stannard. Matt and Andi live in Bethany, Conn., with daughter Charlotte, while Dave and Tricia split their time between Bedford, N.H., and Cape Cod with their younger son Ethan. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with them all soon! A big congratulations go to Edward J. Blair, as he was promoted to president and vice chairman of the board at Lutron Electronics. According to the press release: “His nearly 30-year career at Lutron has included senior leadership roles across engineering, marketing and sales, and he was named president in 2019. His promotion reflects Lutron’s dedication to innovation, growth and workplace excellence. … A named inventor on over 100 U.S. patents, he has played a key role in shaping Lutron’s technology and future direction. Outside of work, Ed coaches youth sports and serves on Lehigh’s Dean’s Advisory Council and the National Association of Manufacturers Board. He and his wife Christine live in Pennsylvania with their three children.” ’97 Lopa (Patel) Zielinski, Madison, NJ, Lpzielinski@gmail.com Libby Swanke-Vinson has been named CEO of the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, the statewide not-for-profit organization that represents community-based providers who care for and advance the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ’98 Gregory Kuklinski, gjk4@ alum.lehigh.edu Jim Kelly writes that he recently moved to Singapore, where he is working for the U.S. Embassy. Reach out if you are visiting! Congratulations to Aliza Stern, who is the new program director of Boston University’s Physician Assistant Program at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She is an assistant professor of dermatology and has worked there for nine years as she continues to see patients. Anjali Taneja received the New Mexico Heroes of Health Award from the Con Alma Health Foundation in January. You can read more about her accomplishments here: conalma. org/2024-heroes-of-healthdr-anjali-taneja-and-sophiaweatherly/. Please continue to share your news, and I will make sure that it makes our class column. ’99 Karen (Smith) Fischer, kms5lehigh@ gmail.com Hello, ’99ers! I’m happy to share that Abby (Lynn) Allen reached out with an update. She and Ron Allen ’01 are celebrating 15 years of marriage! They live in NYC with their two children, Alexandra, age 12, and Reid, age 9. Abby is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and has recently taken on a new role at the Hospital for Special Surgery/ Weill Cornell. She has been at Mount Sinai Hospital for the last 15-plus years. Ron continues his career at BlackRock, where he is the global head of transformation of the Aladdin client business. Abby recently stopped by Lehigh on the way home from a soccer game with her daughter, and while the Tally Ho was unfortunately closed for dinner, she enjoyed driving her daughter around campus and reminiscing about her Lehigh days! Thanks for reaching out, Abby. Hopefully you’ll inspire more of our class to check in! Wishing you all the best! ’00 GUEST CORRESPONDENT: Natalie Ciampa, natalieciampa@gmail.com Rounding out my updates from the summer issue, Kate (Weber) Lipp is employed at SPI Corporate Solutions, working with real estate and corporate attorneys. Kate lives in Westfield, N.J., and is still a Jersey girl through and through. She enjoys catching a Yankees game and watching her favorite Knicks, and she still goes back to Lehigh to watch the basketball team crush it. Her roots may be in Jersey, but her heart will always be in the energy and excitement of New York. Good thing there are trains to get her there because her sense of direction has not improved since college. Caitlin (Gibbons) Shea lives in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where she is a beloved, award-winning middle school English and U.S. history teacher at Westlake City Schools. Caitlin goes above and beyond to connect with her students, helping them understand how past conflicts have shaped their present reality. Caitlin, a former soccer player, remains passionate about sports and fitness, passing those interests on to her three children, Cadence (20), a volleyball player at UNC, Ireland (18) and Kinzy (13). As the first in our friend group to have kids, Caitlin often uses our Lehigh experience as the ideal example of college life. She’s even managed to get her kids to love and appreciate Wawa—a true testament to her influence! Jessica (Glomb) Griffith lives in Fairfield, Conn., with her husband and kids, Charlotte and Wyatt. She is senior vice president of public relations at Precision AQ in NYC. She recently took on the Lehigh women’s soccer alumni ambassador role, reconnecting the old with the new and capitalizing on celebrating Lehigh’s amazing current team and their phenomenal coach. Jessica and I still love visiting Lehigh with our fathers, who are also alumni. It’s special to retrace their footsteps on campus and share those memories with our families. I am still in contact with Spencer Gerberding and his wife, Alli Adrian, and I thought you would be happy to hear that he has not lost his Minnesotan accent. He has settled with his three boys in his hometown of Minneapolis, but he yearns to move farther north toward Duluth. He is always on the go with his family, whether boating or skating on their lake, Nordic skiing or playing ice hockey. Finally, I wanted to congratulate Ashley (Merlin) Gold, who has been named president of the board of directors for the Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans. ’01 Abby Dawes Columbo, abbywdawes@gmail.com As we kicked off another school year, I was reminded of arriving back on campus with the car packed to the ceiling and the anticipation of another fun year. Send me your favorite back to school memories, and I will share them in our next update. I received an update from Cliff Buck: “Shannon and I, along with our two sons, Cormac (12) and Oliver (9), are enjoying life on the Georgia coast in Savannah, where I am based at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. I am celebrating my 12th year on the faculty at the UGA and was promoted to full professor of marine sciences. In spring 2025, I completed my first season officiating collegiate men’s lacrosse as a member of the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials.”
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