Alumni Class Notes - Sept 2026

Once a Panther, always a Panther. Stay connected with each other, and your Pine Crest family by sharing your successes, life events, the good and bad and everything in between.

Professional Achievements

Norman Cuadra ’85 was recently sworn in as President of the Council of Municipal Court Judges of Georgia. 

Erin Blankstein ’14 was named to Billboard's 40 Under 40 list, the annual celebration of the young executives leading the music industry's next generation. 

Filmmaker Lance Oppenheim ’14 is behind two highly anticipated films, directing “Primetime,” starring Robert Pattinson, and co-directing “You Can See Everything” with Nathan Fielder. 

Aron Weingard ’03 (center) hosted Jakob Schneider ’23 (right) for a summer internship. We're grateful for our strong alumni network! 

Spotted

Kristen (Chaney) ’01 with her husband, Thomas, and daughters Harlow ’38 and Harper ’31 Kiss at the U.S. Kids Golf Teen World Championship, where Harper finished second and earned the No. 2 world ranking among 13-year-old golfers. 

Kyra (Vangeloff) VanBeach ’07 with her husband, Donald, their daughter, and pre-kindergarten Panther, Lirak ’40 at his first football game! 

David Abeles ’97 was on campus recently with his wife and children! He stopped to pose with Dr. Dana Markham ’18H and Mr. Larry Mellone ’24H after signing the alumni wall.

Andy Lavender ’04 added his name to the alumni wall during a recent campus visit!

Siblings Akesha (Sanjay) Thakor ’13, with her daughter Aliya, and Aevin Sanjay ’15 recently toured campus with their mom Sandy Patel and ran into their cousin, current sophomore, Khyara Patel ’29 (far left).

Andie (Schneider) Rubin ’09 toured campus recently, adding her name to the newest part of the alumni wall. 

Kevin Boothe ’01, Trustee, spoke with eighth grade students on our Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale campuses about leadership. 

Engagements

Congratulations to Aaron Bloch ’19 and Juliana Kislin ’19 on their recent engagement! 

Samantha Finkelberg ’20 and Ryan Zimmerman ’20 are engaged! 

Babies

Stephen Benson ’11 and his wife, Keri Benson, welcomed their second child, Barrett Joseph Benson on April 6, 2026! 

Akesha (Sanjay) Thakor ’13 and her husband Aakash, welcomed their first child, Aliya, in January 2026. 

Olivia (Paul) Katzman ’15 and her husband, Adam, welcomed their son Cruz on August 31!

Jacky Tse ’09 and Jonathan Schoder ’09 welcomed their daughter Astrid in September! 

Diana (Damoorgian) McKee ’09 and her husband, Mark, welcomed baby boy Tommy on August 12.