Download Current Issue - SAIS

energy and social impacts of
food systems in the United
States. She is also developing
metrics to support sustainability
improvements in
the industry. She has two
children, Richard, 8, and
Madeleine, 5.
Benjamin Hein B’93, ’94
saw several classmates last
summer when he worked at
a multifamily office of PRS
Investment Advisory and visited
investment management
firms around the world.
In June and July, he reconnected
with Jennifer
(Kimiatek) Hunnewell B’93,
’94 in Boston and Stacy
Scapino B’93, ’94 in Chicago.
In August in Sao Paulo,
he visited Jose Pedro Leite
da Costa B’93, ’94, Fernando
Borges B’93, ’94 and Rick de
Lambert B’93, ’94.
In April 2008 Cynthia
Lopez ’94 became the
director of the JCPenney
Leadership Program for
high-achieving business
students at the University of
Oklahoma’s Price College of
Business.
Suzie Sudarman ’94 has
been heading the American
Studies Center since April
2003 while also teaching in
the Department of International
Relations at Universitas
Indonesia in Jakarta since
1986.
1995
Yamilee Bastien B’94, ’95
is the commercial attaché at
the U.S. Embassy in Brazil
and looks forward to having
a full house of visitors
during the 2014 World Cup
Games. In July, she was featured
in an Essence article on
“Global Movers and Shakers
Changing Our World.”
As of September 2010,
Thanos Kafopoulos B’94,
’95 became consul general of
Greece in Montreal, responsible
for Quebec and the
Maritime Provinces.
1996
Jim Armington ’96 moved
from Washington, D.C.,
to Tokyo in October 2010
to lead Boeing’s defense,
space and security business
in Japan. In January 2011,
Armington also became
co-chair of the Aerospace
and Defense Committee
of the American Chamber
of Commerce in Japan. In
June, he co-hosted a SAIS
alumni event at the Boeing
Japan headquarters.
Isabel Hagbrink ’96
joined the World Bank
in July 2009. She is now
senior communications officer
of the Carbon Finance
Unit and lives in Washington,
D.C.
Zachariah Messitte B’94,
’96 has held the William J.
Crowe Chair in Geopolitics
at the University of Oklahoma
since August 2007.
In January 2011, he was
named the dean of the College
of International Studies.
His wife, Julia B’94, ’96,
is an assistant general counsel
for the university. They
have two children, Samuel,
9, and Julius, 7.
Lainie Thomas ’96
has been based in Manila,
Philippines, with the Asian
Development Bank (ADB)
for the past three years.
Since February 2009, she
has worked specifically
with the NGO and Civil
Society Center, supporting
ADB’s engagement with
civil society.
In August, Joy Whitlow
’96 was promoted to
chief financial officer and
executive vice president
for finance at the National
Association of Broadcasters.
WHAT WE’VE HeARD
She lives in Washington,
D.C., with her husband and
three sons.
In September 2006,
Stephen Yates ’96 founded
DC Asia Advisory, a consulting
company. In May
2010, the company was
rechristened DC International
Advisory with Yates
still at the helm as founder
and president. He also
remains a senior fellow
at the American Foreign
Policy Council and lives in
Gaithersburg, Md.
1997
Phillip Assis B’95, ’97
became the public affairs
officer at the U.S. Embassy
to the Holy See (Vatican) in
September.
Matt Hill ’97, N’97
and Tiange Gao ’97, N’97
moved to Melbourne, Australia,
in April 2010. They
now have two boys, Oliver,
6, and Patrick, 3.
After three years serving
as chief of party of a
USAID-funded financial
sector development program
in the West Bank
of the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, Timothy
Nourse ’97 returned to
Washington, D.C., in
January 2011 to become
executive director of Making
Cents International, a
socially oriented development
consulting business.
Pamela Pontius ’07 has
been a foreign service officer
with the U.S. Department
of State since graduation.
Her family enjoyed
two years in Hyderabad,
India, where they helped to
open a new consulate. In
March, they were posted to
Manila, Philippines, where
there is a thriving SAIS
community.
John Vaaler ’97, finance
director of John Deere Russia,
moved to Moscow in
August 2010 to take up this
new position after two years
in Tampere, Finland, as
finance director for Deere’s
forestry business in Europe
and Russia.
1998
Eric Gibbs ’98 and Sampriti
Ganguli ’99, ’01 celebrated
their 11th wedding anniversary
on August 19, during
a blissful week in Copenhagen.
Gibbs recently joined
an international NGO as the
senior director of country
programs and is happily connecting
with SAIS classmates
in Beijing, Mexico City, New
Delhi and Brussels. Ganguli
has worked for the past
decade at Corporate Executive
Board, where she heads
the company’s government
practice.
Elizabeth Madigan Jost
B’97, ’98 was appointed
chief risk officer for Latin
America at Morgan Stanley
in June. She works out of the
company’s New York office.
Since July 2009, Loula
Sassaris Merkel ’98 of Des
Plaines, Ill., has worked as
second-generation biofuel
technology developer at
Coskata. She is focused on
helping to finance the company’s
first commercial facility
using its low-cost technology,
which she says can
reduce dependence on oil,
stimulate rural job creation
and is environmentally superior
to other biofuel options.
In August, Russell Porter
’98 of Bethesda, Md., became
director of the Office of Strategic
Planning, Monitoring
and Evaluation, Budget and
Outreach in USAID’s Office
of Afghanistan-Pakistan
Affairs. He previously served
as director of the USAID
2011–2012 101