1958
Robert Lehr retired from his career as Professor at the Southern Illinois School of Medicine several years ago but continues to teach Anatomy and Physiology online for the Community College of Vermont.
Marcus Payne, now retired, was inducted into the Insurance America Hall of Fame in November 2020. Shortly after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps as a young man, he started a 58-year career in insurance, beginning at Unigard Insurance Group. After 25 years there, culminating in a role as Senior Vice President of Field Operations, Payne joined Crump Insurance Services, where he was President, COO, and Executive Consultant. He joined All Risks in 2003 as Managing Director and helped establish All Risks University, the firm’s training program for new recruits. He was awarded the Charles McAlear Industry Award by NAPSLO in 1996 and was made a lifetime member of the organization.
1965
Paul Pearce, retired sports executive, was recently interviewed about his role in establishing the first Women’s Tennis Association professional tennis tournament more than 50 years ago in Houston, Texas. Pearce was Executive Director of the Houston Tennis Association when the tournament, billed then as the Virginia Slims Women’s Tennis Tour, and its players defied the ruling bodies of international and national tennis because of extremely lower prize money for women than men. Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King and eight other women signed $1 contracts with Gladys Heldman of World Tennis magazine at the Houston Racquet Club. That began a revolution that resulted in higher compensation for women in all sports—and perhaps expanded women’s rights beyond the sports world. Paul took part in a virtual reunion with the nine women in September 2020 on the 50th anniversary of the historic event. Today, Pearce lives in Lake Barrington, Illinois. The photo shows the $1 payment the players received for their contracts.
1967
Jim Jarratt was sworn in as the Mayor of Granbury, Texas, in July 2021 following a special election. He had served on the city’s Capital Improvement Advisory Committee, the Municipal Utility Advisory Board, and the county’s Library Advisory Board. Now retired professionally, during his career he had worked for Johnson & Johnson, Frito-Lay, Citibank, and Equifax, and retired in 2009 from UnitedHealth Group as Vice President of Operations.
1971
David Baker was inducted into the Garland Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 for his career contributions as an athletic trainer. He served as Athletic Trainer at Garland High School from 1973 to 1987, then moved to Centennial High, where he remained until 1996. When Rowlett High School opened in 1996, he developed the athletic training program for the school. After seven years at Rowlett, he retired, but missed the work and returned to the training program at Garland High School in 2009.
1972
Barbara Parker retired after 19 years as Director of Programs for Piedmont Arts, an accredited museum and arts center in Martinsville, Virginia. She is now Director of the For Alison Foundation, 501(c)3 organization established in memory of her daughter Alison. The foundation provides arts opportunities for young people in southern Virginia. A passionate advocate for the arts, Barbara was appointed in 2019 by Governor Ralph Northam to the Virginia Commission for the Arts as a commissioner for Area II.
1976
Joe Cox released a new album of 14 original piano solos, Dreams & Sketches, in 2020 on Spotify and other streaming services. He describes the collection as cinematic, ambient, minimalist, and crossover classical—something for calm reflection. A composer and pianist for more than 30 years, he also transcribes, arranges, and notates the songs of many top artists for publisher Hal Leonard. “I spent hours in the practice rooms at Craig Hall, working on Beethoven, Chopin, and Grieg for Dr. Armstrong, and four years I sang in and toured with the A Cappella Choir under Bruce Lunkley. I also loved playing timpani or French horn with the Sherman Symphony Orchestra.” Joe and his wife, Ruth Tenison Hogg Cox ’75, have been together 44 years, living in Dallas before moving to Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1991.
Larry Tidwell (MA ’77) is one of eight new members of the Class of 2022 Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame, selected by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC). The members will be inducted in May 2022 at the annual TABC clinic in San Antonio. TABC leaders describe Tidwell as “a fierce advocate for girls basketball.” He earned eight district championships and nine playoff appearances with his girls high school teams and then enjoyed a successful college coaching experience at the D-1 level. His college stops include Lamar University, The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, and Kansas. He joined Dallas Christian College as Head Women’s Basketball Coach in 2020.
1977
Claude Webb (MA ’79) always has a story to share and can gather a group of alumni pretty quickly. That could be in hopes of keeping certain events from their own years out of the stories. He also loves music. A group of Austin College graduates have purchased several 100-year-old buildings on the square in historic Westminster, northeast of McKinney in Collin County, and opened a live music venue they describe as the “Luckenbach of North Texas.” Owners and operators Claude Webb and Michael Bardgett ’03 named the spot THE GAR HOLE after Webb’s Luckett Hall room. The Gar Hole has a bar and grill, smokes its own BBQ, and features Texas music on indoor and outdoor stages.
1978
H. Paul Putman III, M.D. was a guest in May 2021 on the American Psychiatric Association Publishing’s Books podcast as a “voice behind the most prominent psychiatric scholarship in the field today.” He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA and member of other distinguished professional organizations. Board Certified in General Psychiatry, he received his M.D. at UTMB–Galveston and completed his internship and residency in General Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he was Chief Resident. He has been a practicing psychiatrist for over 30 years, published in peer-reviewed journals, and served as a supervisor for the Austin Graduate Medical Education/UT Medical Branch Residency Program in Psychiatry. He currently chairs the Committee for Continuing Medical Education of the ACP and writes and lectures full time.
Stephen Schlacks, Texas board-certified personal injury attorney, celebrates 35 years as a Baylor Law School graduate and 25 years as founder of his civil trial law practice in The Woodlands, Texas. He received the 2020 “AV Preeminent” rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Texas Bar and Judiciary Edition. The AV preeminent rating is given to the attorneys who rank at the highest level of professional excellence for legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards in peer review ratings. Stephen also received the 2020 Texas Bar Foundation Badge of Honor and is Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Only 1/3 of 1% of all Texas attorneys are accepted, by invitation only, into the Foundation.
1979
J. Lee Whittington, professor of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas, was named the 2021 King Fellow, who, according to the announcement, “is a professor whose life and work have made a significant contribution to the excellence of education at UTD and who exemplifies the best qualities of a teacher, colleague, and scholar at the university.” His provost announced, “When this professor enters the classroom, the students can immediately feel the increase in energy and enthusiasm.” The professor is also a successful researcher, and he has written numerous books, articles, and essays. He also was recognized for service to the university, as well as his work in executive coaching and leadership development.
1983
Bill Leonard joined PlainsCapital and its Private Bank as Wealth Strategist, developing customized financial plans and investment strategies for clients. In announcing the hire, the bank’s Chief Operating Officer praised Bill’s decades of wealth management experience and proven record with his clients. Bill joined PlainsCapital from another large national bank where he was Senior Vice President and Senior Trust and Fiduciary Specialist. He has more than 33 years of financial services experience in Texas. He has held numerous leadership positions on the North Texas Estate Planning Council and the Texas Bankers Association Advisory Board.
1984
Rodney Moore, Co-Managing Partner of the Dallas Office of the international law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and a Partner in the Firm’s Private Equity practice, has been included in the The Best Lawyers in America 2022. He was noted particularly in the area of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. He has been consistently included on the list for many years. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on a peer-review survey in which attorneys cast votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Moore also spends significant time in the firm’s Houston office.
Jeffrey D. Rhodes was inducted to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Board of Trustees, representing the Southwestern District. After Austin College, he graduated from Baylor College of Dentistry in 1988 and completed specialty training in pediatric dentistry in 1990, including fellowships at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. While at Baylor College of Dentistry, he published research in growth and development of young children’s faces. His special interests lie in the growth and development of children’s smiles. He now teaches pediatric dental residents at Jordan Valley Community Center in Springfield, Missouri.
1985
Kirsten Brandt James is Executive Director of Project Transformation of North Texas, where she leads change through mission and service. Before joining that team, she had more than 25 years of nonprofit management and fundraising experience, including service as the Chief Development Officer of 29 Acres, where she raised funds to support a living community for adults with autism in Denton County, and as Executive Director of Alley’s House, helping teen mothers complete their educations. She previously spent 22 years as the Executive Director of Junior Players, where she oversaw exponential growth for the arts education agency as it served thousands of youth throughout North Texas.
1987
Robert Cresanti was named Managing Director and Government Relations Lead for Accenture in North America and head of the company’s Government Relations Network. He will report to Accenture’s General Counsel and is based in Washington, D.C. Robert has nearly 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including roles in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. He joined Accenture from the International Franchise Association (IFA), comprised of more than 1,400 brands that include many iconic restaurants and hotels. He began his career on Capitol Hill, where he became an expert in banking and tax issues over his nine-year tenure. In 2006, he was confirmed as Under Secretary for Technology and Chief Privacy Officer at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Webster Crocker retired in fall 2021 after 32 years as Director of Theatricks Children’s Theatre, a division of Sherman Community Players. Over his career, he developed the children’s theatre programming to include regular seasons of plays and musicals, workshops, and Project Theatre, a traveling troupe that took plays into area schools. Webster and his wife, Nikki Gowen Crocker ’89 (MAT ’90), worked side by side to make the theatre a positive experience for families and people of all ages. Post-retirement, Webster is collaborating with regional nonprofits to bring more children’s theatre to new audiences.
Karon Washburn Rowden was promoted in January 2021 from Staff Attorney at Texas A&M Family and Veterans Advocacy Clinic to the position of Interim Director and Lecturer. She has worked with the legal clinic, training new students in the practice of law. In addition to teaching in the law clinic, she has taught marital property and is a frequent local continuing legal education presenter on topics related to domestic violence and family law, special immigrant juvenile status and family law, and veterans and family law. The clinic is a service of Texas A&M University School of Law.
1988
Byron Christie, M.D., has been fighting COVID-19 since its beginnings in the U.S. He is Associate Chief Medical Officer of Integrations for Radiology Partners and once the pandemic hit, Dr. Christie and RP radiologists traveled across the U.S. to provide care in hard-hit regions. He contracted COVID-19 himself while treating patients in Florida and upon recovery, he increased his fight against the virus and intensified his work to educate medical students. He received one of eight Imaging Wire Awards for 2020 “honoring this year’s most outstanding contributions to radiology.” The Imaging Wire is a medical imaging industry news outlet. Dr. Christie is based in El Segundo, California.
1989
Seemee Ali leads the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture as President of the nonprofit organization. She took the position in fall 2020, having been closely involved with the work of the Institute since the 1990s. She taught on the Rome campuses of the University of Dallas and John Cabot University, and back in the United States, at Morgan State University, Villanova University, and Carthage College. She also returned frequently to lecture at the Institute. She and her husband, Michael McShane, came to Dallas from Carthage College in Wisconsin where they are recognized as Professors Emeriti for their work in the liberal arts.
Nick Kagal is Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for SpinSci, a communication development team in Dallas working for a healthcare technology solutions provider. He says it is his personal goal to improve the healthcare of communities by improving access to efficient quality healthcare services.
1990
Todd Estes was named Best of Texoma for Best Estate Planning/Probate Attorney in 2020. He is the founding attorney of The Law Office of M. Todd Estes P.C. in Sherman and is licensed in Texas and Oklahoma. He has practiced for more than 27 years in estate planning, probate, guardianship, and corporate law and business organizations. Todd is also the Music Minister at Faith Church of Sherman. His family is continuing the Austin College tradition through his daughter, Emily ’20, and his son, Nick ’24.
1992
Dallas Cothrum completed his two-year term as President of the Highland Park Education Foundation in September 2021. The organization annually provides more than $3 million in benefits to teachers, staff, and students of Highland Park ISD. Dallas serves as the CEO of Masterplan, which is celebrating its 40-year anniversary and has offices in Dallas, Frisco, Austin, and Houston. He also serves on the boards of directors of City Hospital at White Rock Lake and the McWhiney Foundation.
Aric C. Gillen, board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist, is serving as part of the OB/GYN hospitalist team at OB Hospitalist Group in Greenville, Texas. The group has partnered with Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital to launch a full-time OB Emergency Department. Dr. Gillen earned his medical degree in 2007 from St. George’s University School of Medicine and completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency in Michigan at Providence Hospital and Medical Centers from 2007 to 2011.
Joel Lesh became General Manager and Vice President for Atkins Kroll Saipan in February 2021. He was named AK Aftersales Director in December 2017. He has over 25 years of automotive dealership management experience. He previously was the National Aftersales Director for Kenmore Ltd. in Papua, New Guinea.
J. Michael Price II was named to the 2021 D Magazine Best Lawyer list and has been included for 16 years as a Texas Super Lawyer. For 15 years, he has had dual board certification as a criminal defense lawyer by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy—one of only five Dallas attorneys so certified. He and his wife, Krissa, have lived in Frisco for 17 years and have two sons, Trey, 17, and Brenden, 13. Michael recently opened a law office in Plano.
1993
Kristen Forrester Streater has been promoted to Dean of Academic Affairs at the Plano campus of Collin College. The division includes most of the academic transfer disciplines offered at Plano. She had previously served more than two years as an Associate Dean over the History, Government, and Psychology departments at the campus.
1994
Joy Eckelkamp joined the law firm of Rapp and Krock in Houston, Texas, as Senior Counsel in 2021. She is a Certified Elder Law Attorney with the National Elder Law Foundation and has 21 years of experience in Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate, Guardianship, Trust Administration, and Special Needs and Public Benefits Planning and Administration, and more. Prior to joining
Rapp & Krock, she was a Trust Officer at Bank of Texas.
1995
Dennis Womack was named the Coppell ISD Chief Operations Officer during summer 2021. He had 25 years of education experience, including 22 years in administration in McKinney ISD and Lovejoy ISD. Most recently, he served as Assistant Superintendent for Operations in Lovejoy ISD.
1999
Ishaq Kundawala joined the faculty at Mercer University’s George School of Law in Macon, Georgia, as a tenured Professor in Bankruptcy Law in May 2021, teaching courses including Contracts and Bankruptcy. He previously taught at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law for 13 years. There, he created a consumer bankruptcy externship program in which students represented consumer debtors in bankruptcy proceedings on a pro bono basis. He plans to launch a similar program at Mercer. He began his career in private practice in Dallas, Texas, with the international firm of Baker Botts LLP, and is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Georgia.
Eric Montgomery is Executive Vice President of Technology with the on-demand gamification platform Trivie. He oversees the SaaS-based software development, integration, and strategy, as well as various other technologies. Before taking the position, he had most recently been Vice President of Information Technology for Susan G. Komen, where he managed software and technology teams at companies including Intuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Raytheon.
2000
Abby K. Wood was appointed in 2021 to a four-year term on the Fair Political Practices Commission of California. She serves on the FPPC’s Digital Transparency Task Force. From 2015 to 2017, she served on the Federal Bipartisan Campaign Finance Task Force. Dr. Wood also is an Associate Professor of Law, Political Science, and Public Policy at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. Before joining USC Gould, she clerked for the judge of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She also has consulted on good governance projects in association with USAID, World Bank, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and UNDP.
2001
Jill Gin Dinges is the new Primary Years Programme PYP Director at Lone Star Language Academy in Plano, Texas. LSLA is a K-5 charter school that aims to provide students with an innovative inquiry-based learning experience that fosters critical thinking skills, language acquisition, and intercultural competence. She had more than nine years of experience implementing the program in the classroom setting. She was a founding fourth-grade teacher at the Imagine International Academy of North Texas, where she was twice named Teacher of the Year. After six years with Imagine, she helped implement the IB Primary Years Programme in Frisco ISD. She is now back with the Imagine Schools family in a new role.
2002
Amanda Lumley Walker-Pethick is in her third year as the Director of Student Support Services at Akiba Yavneh Academy of Dallas, a private Jewish day school. She and her staff have been able to begin a revolutionary program for inclusive special education services for any Jewish child with special needs. She said the program and services do not exist elsewhere in the country.
2003
Marcus Schulz is in his first year as Athletic Coordinator and Head Football Coach at Humble High School. He previously served as Head Football Coach for Splendora ISD and had been Athletic Director there since 2014. Under his leadership, the Splendora football team advanced to Bi-District Champions for the first time in the school’s 74-year history. Marcus’ high school coaching experience in track and field, baseball, and football covers Gainesville ISD, Sanger ISD, Andrews ISD, and Hillsboro ISD.
2004
E.A. Hoppe became the City Manager of Kerrville, Texas, in July 2021, continuing a 16-year career of service to municipalities, and moving up from Kerrville’s Deputy City Manager. While still completing his degree at Austin College, he began an internship with the City of Richardson, Texas, where he became interested in the duties of a City Manager. After the internship, he stayed on in 2005, working as a Management Analyst and eventually was named Assistant City Manager, then City Manager. He left Richardson in 2013 to become the City Manager for the City of Bulverde, where he worked before moving to Kerrville in 2016 as Deputy City Manager. E.A., his wife, Ashley, and their two sons are pleased to stay in the Hill Country area they call home.
2005
Vera Corbett Ahiyya has written the picture book KINDergarten about a kindergarten class working on a kindness pledge to be the kindest it can be. Ayihha, also known as The Tutu Teacher, said the book was inspired by her own kindergarten class. The book is expected to be published in summer 2022. Find The Tutu Teacher on social media.
Blake Garmon, M.D., a Primary Care Physician, has joined the Geisinger 65 Forward Health Center team in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. He earned his medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia Medical Center. He joins the 65 Forward team following work in primary care in central Virginia, where he also served as a Wound Care Physician and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Jennifer Cary Vaughn graduated with her Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University in December 2020. She taught Environmental Science at Collin College for a time and started a new position in fall 2021 as eighth-grade Science teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas.
2006
John Bucy III was re-elected in November 2020 to the Texas House of Representatives, a post he first won in 2018. A native Texan and small business owner, he serves District 136—western Williamson County—including Northwest Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, and the Brushy Creek area. He was honored by his peers as House Democratic Caucus Freshman of the Year in 2019 and by Hill Country News as Best Elected Official in 2019 and 2020. John is proud to serve on the board of the Special Olympics of Texas and supports Big Bend Conservancy. His wife, Molly, is a public school teacher. The two have a daughter, Bradley Harper, and live in Northwest Austin.
2007
Austin Coachman wanted to be Assistant Principal at Lovejoy High School for years. The problem? His dad held that job. Finally, in 2021, Austin’s dad retired, Austin interviewed, and the job became his. An area reporter writing about Austin’s move into his dad’s job elicited a response that Austin does indeed ask his dad questions about the job. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Austin said. “He’s been my ally since I was one day old.”
David Savage, M.D., completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California San Diego in June 2021. He is now a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at Scripps Health in La Jolla, California. David is also serving the next three years on the alumni boards for both The UT McGovern Medical School in Houston and Austin College.
2008
Jesse Booher recently joined DePelchin Children’s Center as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. He had worked with DePelchin in his previous roles at the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services and the Department of Family and Protective Services. He’s excited to work closely with fellow ’Roo Katie Senor Hannan ’12 in her role as DePelchin’s Operations Coordinator.
Rebecca Webb Buell was selected as a Dallas Business Journal 2021 Top 40 Under 40 honoree. The recognition celebrates the up-and-comers who are making an impact in their industry and in their communities. Rebecca is Chief Financial Officer of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Her 10-year career in finance at the foundation has progressively developed with increasing responsibility, including the role of Vice President for Finance and Accounting, before taking the CFO position nearly four years ago.
Michael Cleveland, Senior Manager for Emerging Technology for BNSF Railway, was selected through an online poll in Railway Age as one of 10 of the most influential people in the North American railway industry—those individuals who are committed to service and whose mantra is making a difference. He joined the railway in 2010 as a Mechanical Management Trainee. In 2015, he moved to the System Locomotive Team, and now he leads the Battery Electrification and Energy Storage Initiative, which he established in 2018.
Kristin Shapiro received the 2020-2021 Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for the State of Colorado, awarded by the National Association of Biology Teachers. She is in her second year at Florence Junior/Senior High School, teaching ninth-grade Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Environmental Science, and is the Gifted and Talented Coordinator for grades 10 to 12. She also helps students and teachers prepare for the AP exam, teaches the AP course, and is a part-time coach and curriculum writer for the National Math and Science Initiative. Before she and her husband moved to Colorado, she taught for 11 years in Plano ISD.
2009
Jamie Hannan (MAT ’10) joined the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as the Innovation Research Analyst in January 2021. He gained an interest in Emergency Management while working on his Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Houston, which he obtained in 2019. His wife, Katie Senor Hannan ’12, is the Operations Coordinator for DePelchin Children’s Center in Houston. Jamie and Katie have a daughter, Abigail.
Wes Johnston is Development Manager at Medcore Partners, a national real estate development and investment company that focuses exclusively on delivering customized facilities for physicians and healthcare service providers. Under Wes’s leadership, the firm has developed a surgery center at Highway 75 and E. Taylor in Sherman. He said it was exciting to revisit his old stomping grounds from his college days and to provide a service for the community he came to know so well when he was at Austin College. The Ambulatory Surgery Center and clinical facility opened in 2021.
Nikunj Rana is CEO and President of Rana Facial Plastic Surgery in the McKinney/Frisco area. He earned his M.D. in 2014 from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed a residency in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at UTMB Galveston in 2019. He then completed a fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery and premier image cosmetic and laser surgery at Emory School of Medicine in 2020.
Dhriti Pandya Stocks successfully defended her dissertation, “Beyond Tiebout: Towards a theory of philanthropic engagement in education in local communities,” for her Ph.D. in Public Affairs in the Public and Nonprofit Management program at UT Dallas. Dr. Stocks is Director of Corporate Relations at Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. Her research focused on the intersection of philanthropy and public education.
Miles Vaughn is Assistant Soccer Coach at the University of Maryland. He had been on staff for three seasons and spent last season as Interim Assistant/ Director of Soccer Operations. In his first season as an assistant, Vaughn helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament after an 0-3 start in the shortened spring season. Prior to his operations role at Maryland, Miles served as a coach and the Director of Operations for the Bethesda Soccer Club, a top youth club.
Jessica Lewis Wescott, CFO of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, has added Chief Operating Officer to her title. She began her wealth management and investments career as an Analyst and Marketing Manager for True North Advisors. She then held several roles at ACT Wealth Management, culminating as Director of Client Relations. Jessica then worked through several finance-centered roles with Plano-based brand MOOYAH, ending her time with the franchise brand as Vice President of Development and Finance. She joined Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in 2018 as Executive Vice President of Finance and has worked her way into the C-suite.
Samantha M. Junker Wommack was named a shareholder and Executive Vice President of Sisemore Law Firm, a family law firm in Fort Worth, Texas, in April 2021. She had been a Senior Attorney there, having joined the firm as an intern in her final year of law school at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. While she always knew she wanted to become an attorney, she decided to specialize in family law during her early tenure at Sisemore.
2010
Kola Alade completed his Ph.D. in School Psychology from Texas Woman’s University in August 2021. His dissertation examined cognitive flexibility in pediatric traumatic brain injury patients in response to a cognitive rehabilitation program over time. He will complete his post-doctoral fellowship at Cook Children’s Denton Psychology Clinic, where he will mainly conduct neuropsychological evaluations.
2011
Sarah Gilbert Pickett graduated in spring 2021 with a Ph.D. in Musicology from Florida State University, where she also completed a master’s degree. A violinist, she has joined the Music faculty at Georgia Gwinnett College, in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Arathi Ramamurthi Rana is with U.S. Dermatology Partners in Sherman and Paris, Texas. A Texas A&M College of Medicine graduate, she completed her internship and dermatology residency at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMBGalveston). In two consecutive years of residency, she was awarded training from the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery with national leaders in Cosmetic Dermatology. In her final year of residency, she was selected as the Academic Chief Resident and awarded The UTMB Dermatology Resident Research Award for study in Aesthetic Medicine. She and her husband, a facial plastic surgeon, live in North Texas with their German Shepherd.
2012
Katie Senor Hannan became the Operations Coordinator for DePelchin Children’s Center in June 2021. Katie began working with DePelchin as a Clinical Case Manager after completing her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Houston in 2016. Katie and her husband, Jamie Hannan ’09 (MAT ’10), who works for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, have a daughter, Abigail, 4.
Ayvaunn Penn is the playwright and director behind For Bo: A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Officer Amber Guyger. This fictionalized story—inspired by true events that took place in Dallas, Texas—was a 2020 and 2021 finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. In October 2021, the virtual production of the play presented by The #ForBoInitiative, The Botham Jean Foundation, and Theatre TCU appeared in film festivals—Silicon Valley African Film Festival, Gary International Black Film Festival, and Lone Star Film Festival. Educational and arts institutions can participate in the #ForBoInitiative by visiting TheForBoInitiative.com.
2013
Caitlin Graves received an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership in spring 2021 from Abilene Christian University. She successfully defended her dissertation “Faculty of Color Viewpoints Regarding Recruitment, Retention, and Academic Climate at Texas Community Colleges.” She works at Tarrant County College and lives in Fort Worth, Texas. She wrote that the job might change with the new degree, but she expects the city to remain the same.
2014
Emily Stanton completed her master’s degree in Archaeology at Cornell University in 2017. Inspired by her study abroad experience in Wales at Austin College, her thesis focused on the archaeology and anthropology of early medieval pilgrimage in North Wales; she also hiked 75 miles of the “North Wales Pilgrim’s Way” and spent two weeks at the Nant Gwythern Welsh Language Centre. Emily is writing her Ph.D. dissertation in Anthropology/Archaeology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After spending a summer excavating an Iron Age hill fort in southwest Germany, she is focusing her research on gender and social dynamics in Iron Age Europe. She is also involved in an experimental archaeology project and serves as the Vice President for the Archaeological Institute of America-Milwaukee Society.
2016
Sara Krusekopf (MAT ’17) has joined the faculty of New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, Connecticut, as Upper School Math Teacher, Advisor, and Coach. For the last five years, she taught Upper School Mathematics, including Algebra I and Honors Geometry, to students in grades nine through 12 at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Texas. New Canaan Country School is a co-ed, independent day school for students in Pre-K (ages 3 and 4) through grade nine.
Lauren Wheeler Hutton began a new job in July 2021 as a Registered Nurse at Sanford Health’s Family Birth Center in Fargo, North Dakota. She completed her Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2018 before moving to North Dakota. She initially provided postpartum care for moms and babies, and then moved to the labor and delivery side of things. She said she had always been passionate about taking care of people but taking care of moms and babies has been particularly exciting and satisfying, even in the difficult times that arise in pregnancies.
2017
Angela Huang, M.D., is completing her medicine residency at the University of Washington in Boise, loving the program and the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. Her next step is a neurology residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Beth Israel/West) in New York.
Ganesh Maniam graduated in May 2021 from the MD/ MBA program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine & Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business. His residency match results were Internal Medicine preliminary year at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, for 2021–2022 and a Dermatology residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for 2022–2025.
Erica Williams, a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, is the “Strong” Program Coordinator for Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, California. She developed and leads a balanced program of physical education, skill development, health, and wellness designed to inspire healthy lifestyles and confidence. The position is funded through a grant from the Audacious Foundation. Erica joined Girls Inc. from HM Systems, where she provided direct and consultative services to students in pre-K through high school. Prior to this role, she worked as a primary educator for Before After School Enrichment in Oceanside, California, and was responsible for developing and implementing creative educational activities for students.
2018
Alexander Haj joined Communities Foundation of Texas as Community Philanthropy Associate in summer 2021 and supports grantmaking, collaborative efforts, and capacity building for nonprofits in North Texas. He had served as Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement at Austin College since February 2019, working with engagement programs and volunteer opportunities for alumni. He also worked closely with the Students Today Alumni Tomorrow organization and supported the Alumni Board.
John Pass graduated from the University of North Texas in May 2020 with a master’s degree in Economics and Decision Science. He is working as a Quantitative Modeling Officer at Bank OZK in Dallas.
2019
Nicole Richards has spent her time since graduation working at MD Anderson Cancer Center researching drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. While there, she was able to file a patent with her research team for their series of compounds. She left MD Anderson due to illness but plans to attend graduate school in fall 2022 to study Geoarcheology.