American magazine, July 2016

DC’S STREET ART SCENE
AMONG WORLD’S BEST
p. 12
GLORY IS ONE
WORKOUT AWAY
p. 20
ACROBATS COLLABORATE
IN CITY’S SHADOWS
p. 24
UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE JULY 2016
D SEE:
WASHINGTON
THROUGH
THE EYES OF ITS
ARTISTS

An AU insider’s
perspective on next page

Melody Powers has come full circle.
The Pennsylvania native grew up on a farm and after
picking up a degree at Penn State, where she met husband
Kevin, she settled in the DC area for six years. In 2012,
SICK OF CITY LIFE, the couple moved west for greener
pastures—literally.
Today, they run the 11-acre POWERS FARM AND
BREWERY in northern Fauquier County, Virginia, about
40 miles southwest of Washington. The Powerses will
celebrate their third summer harvest this year with a
CORNUCOPIA OF CROPS, from spinach, strawberries,
and sweet potatoes to chard, carrots, and cabbage. They
sell their organic produce and flowers—grown primarily
from heirloom seed stock—at the nearby Manassas
Farmers Market. More than 30 people have also signed
up for the 20-week farm share, which kicked off in June.
When she’s not tending to her crops, Powers is chasing
after Aggie, a CANTANKEROUS-YET-LOVABLE
RESCUE SHEEP, and 2-year-old collies, Zeus and Cascade
(named for two varieties of hops the couple grows).
“I miss the restaurants,” Powers says of city life. “But
I just love it in the country.”
DOWNLOAD the American magazine app
for 12 questions with Melody Powers.
COVER AND POV: PHOTOS BY MATTHEW STEBENNE SOC/BA ’18
PREVIOUS PAGE: PHOTO BY CHRISTIN BOGGS PEYPER
18
Staring down retinal
degeneration
20
Skeleton athlete,
other Eagles aim
for Olympics
24
Sneaking the circus
out of the tent
30
Firm offers new
structure for
working moms

Melody Powers
CAS/MA ’10
AMERICAN
American University magazine
Vol. 67, No. 1
MANAGING EDITOR
Adrienne Frank, SPA/MS ’08
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Rachel Feingold
STAFF WRITER
Mike Unger
WRITER
Ali Kahn
ART DIRECTOR
Maria Jackson
DESIGNERS
Rena Munster
Henri Siblesz
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeffrey Watts
CLASS NOTES
Traci Crockett
VICE PRESIDENT,
COMMUNICATIONS
Teresa Flannery
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT,
CREATIVE SERVICES
Kevin Grasty
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
CONTENT STRATEGY
Laura Garner
American is published three
times a year by American
University. With a circulation
of 130,000, American is sent
to alumni and other members
of the university community.
Copyright©2016.
An equal opportunity, affirmative
action university. UP17-001
For information regarding the
accreditation and state licensing
of American University, please
visit american.edu/academics.
The livin’ is easy
Here’s what I remember about my summer breaks in
suburban Phoenix:
When we were young, my mom sent my brother and
me to vacation bible school—any vacation bible school—to
keep us busy and her sane. My time with the Baptists and
the Lutherans eventually gave way to babysitting gigs
and a budding lawn care service, which came to an
abrupt end after my dad, whom I paid in Big Gulps, was
stung by a swarm of wasps.
Ours was the only house on the block without a pool,
so we relished housesitting when neighbors set off for
cooler climates. My brother and I also “cooled off” by
sledding down the stairs in a sleeping bag—a stunt which
mortified my mom when she learned about it last year.
There were trips to the library (I lived vicariously
through the girls of Sweet Valley High); excursions to
the dollar theater; sleepovers with my beloved grandma;
evenings at Skateland, singing along to DJ Jazzy Jeff
and the Fresh Prince; and twilight bike rides in the park
that snaked through our suburban development. I still
remember the joy of coasting down hills, the mist from
the sprinklers providing a delightful reprieve from the
sweltering Arizona heat.
As I got older, there was band camp, where I danced
with a boy for the first time, and soccer camp, where I fell
madly in love with the chivalrous young man who let me
stick my sprained ankle in his water jug. When I spent
one summer waitressing, my friends would come in for
burgers and leave dollar bills folded in tiny bows.
And then there were our family vacations. My
parents would strap the canoe to the roof and steer the
car toward Yosemite, the Painted Desert, and the Grand
Canyon—or as I would say, with a dramatic teenage
eyeroll: “that big hole in the ground.” I would take
Dramamine and pass out in the backseat with my
headphones on (much to my parents’ delight, no doubt).
Growing up, it seemed there was nothing
extraordinary about my summers. But looking back, all
those nothings mean something to me. This summer
I wish for you laughter and adventure, good books and
even better ice cream—all in the company of those who
mean the most.
32 1 POV
Before Facebook,
there were yearbooks
4 4400 Mass Ave
Ideas, people, perspectives
16 Metrocentered
34 Your American
Connect, engage, reminisce
Adrienne Frank
Managing Editor
Send story ideas to afrank@american.edu.
Correction: “Where History Lives” (March 2016) mistakenly
indicated that AU’s Archives and Special Collections are
private. The collections are open to the public.

accolades
DEREK HAWKINS HIT A HOME
RUN—a walk-off grand slam, in
fact—in his first at bat. The School of
Communication master’s student
works with the Washington Post’s
investigative unit through a
partnership AU has with the
legendary newspaper. His inaugural
byline was one of three on a
November 3, 2015, story that was
part of the paper’s yearlong series
on fatal shootings by police. The
team that worked on it, which
included Hawkins, won the 2016
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
Not bad for a 31-year-old who was
assigned to the project just a week
after he arrived in the newsroom.
“I’m so grateful that a few people
at the Post were willing to roll the dice
on me,” he says. “When you work at
the Post you’re surrounded by people
who do work that inspires and
motivates you.”
Eyes on the prize
Hawkins earned an undergraduate
degree in journalism from
Northeastern University. While at the
school, he interned with the Boston
Globe’s famed Spotlight investigative
unit. At the Post, he worked with
reporters Marc Fisher and Scott
Higham on “Uneven Justice,” a story
that examined how the families of
victims of police shootings fared in
civil court.
“Two bad shootings, two guilty
cops,” the story’s lead reads. “One
family sues and gets a million
dollars; the other sues and collects
not a penny.”
“I think the most important thing we
did was shed light on how arbitrary the
process can feel for families who are
left to seek justice or a resolution in
civil court,” Hawkins says. “Every
shooting we examined was deemed to
be egregious by prosecutors. These
were the worst of the worst. But there
wasn’t a whole lot of rhyme or reason
between whether an officer was
convicted and whether or not a
family got a civil settlement.
Highlighting those disparities, I
hope, helps explain how frustrating
this process can be.”
Hawkins was in a bathroom at
a Chinatown bar one Friday
evening when he got a call from
an editor telling him the team had
won a Pulitzer. He was sworn to
secrecy until the public
announcement was made Monday
in the newsroom.
“I feel a lot of pressure to put
out great work and hopefully win
one for a solo byline someday,”
he says. “The prospect of this
being my only one ever is a hell of
a motivator.
“But it’s really not about the
prize, it’s about the work you do.”
4 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

expert
3 MINUTES ON . . . National Parks
Katie Orr, CAS/MA ’11
National Park Service historian
Education coordinator, Cultural Resources
Office of Interpretation and Education
Yellowstone was
established by
Ulysses S. Grant in
1872 as
the world’s first
national park. Its
founding began
an international
movement: today
more than 100 countries have
about 1,200 national parks or
equivalent preserves. Most
people know Teddy
Roosevelt played a role
in advocating for the early parks,
but the National Park
Service was created within
the Department of the Interior
by Woodrow Wilson
in 1916, which is
why this year is the
centennial.
The act Wilson
signed states that
the fundamental
purpose of the park
service is “to conserve
the scenery and the
natural and historic objects and
the wild life
therein and to
provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such
manner and by such means as
will leave them
unimpaired for the
enjoyment
of future
generations.”
When it started, the park
service was primarily preserving
large tracts. In the 1960s there
was a historic preservation
movement and a conservation
movement that came out of the
activism of the time. This year is
actually the 50th anniversary of
the National Historic
Preservation Act,
which gave the
park service the
power to create the
National Register
of Historic Places,
which is part of a national
program to coordinate and
support public and private
efforts to identify, evaluate, and
protect America’s historic and
archaeological
resources.
Today the
national park system comprises
410 sites and covers
more than 84
million acres.
The mission of its
more than
20,000
employees is to
preserve natural and cultural
resources. It does this by
educating the public and
promoting the idea
that these places
are valuable.
I love the mission, this idea
that there’s a concentrated effort
to keep intact not just natural
resources for the sake of what
their gold value is, but to create a
sense of meaning among citizens
in this country and give us
pride in our land,
history, and shared cultures.
Last year
more than 307
million
people visited the 879
park service visitor centers and
contact stations. Great
Smoky Mountains
is the most visited. The park
service is growing and evolving
with the American people. We
listen; we
react; we make
a real effort to
be relevant. There has been a
series of acts of Congress over
the years to create
new ways for the
park service to
preserve history
and natural
resources, so the park
service isn’t a monolithic,
unchanging institution. We’re
always growing and looking for
new ways of
doing things to
meet the needs
of contemporary life.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 5

Just 25.7 percent of students who
sought to join AU’s Class of 2020
were admitted—a new all-time low,
down from 35 percent last year.
“Our admitted students
continue to reflect increased
diversity in its broadest sense:
diversity of race, ethnicity,
geography, socioeconomic
standing, and intellectual
viewpoint,” says Greg Grauman,
SOC–SPA/BA ’99, outgoing
assistant vice provost of
undergraduate admissions.
AU received a record 19,000
applications for admission.
Those admitted boast an average
high school GPA of 3.7 and an
average SAT score of 1,280—both
comparable to last year.
“We are excited about the
promise of AU’s Class of 2020,”
Grauman says. “When admitting
only one of every four applicants,
many difficult choices had to
be made. Not only are those we
admitted academically talented,
but they also possess the
nonacademic characteristics that
we know make them a good fit
for the AU community.”
On the heels of the most deadly
mass shooting in US history,
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai
Lama delivered a message of
peace and compassion June 13
at Bender Arena.
“We face a lot of problems,
many of them of our own
making, arising as they do from
anger and self-centeredness.
But we can change. We can
use our brains to learn to
extend our concern to others,
recognizing that as human
beings we are physically,
mentally, and emotionally the
same,” he said.
“Education can help us
change our way of thinking.
The generation of the twentieth
century to which I belong
has created a lot of problems,
which those of you who belong
to the twenty-first century
have to solve. If we take a calm
and compassionate approach I
believe we can create a better,
more peaceful world, but if we
continue to quarrel, cheat, and
exploit each other, we’ll only
see greater misery.”
His Holiness was joined by
actor Richard Gere, chairman
of the International Campaign
for Tibet, and Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA), minority leader of the
US House of Representatives.
His address was sponsored
by the Capital Area Tibetan
Association.
PHOTO BY BY CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES NEWS
POWER PLAYERS
More than half of AU’s power is now sourced from solar energy. As part of the innovative
Capital Partners Solar Project initiative—the largest solar power project constructed east
of the Mississippi River—AU and its partners, George Washington University and the GWU
Hospital, will purchase 123 million kilowatt hours of solar power over a 20-year period.
THE WRITE STUFF
SOC grad student Kent Wagner and Camila DeChalus, SOC/BA ’16, won the
2016 Pulitzer Center Campus Consortium International Reporting Student
Fellowship. The award will support Wagner’s project on environmental
devastation in Borneo and DeChalus’s work on the ways in which the
Catholic Church is combating climate change in Colombia.
6 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

news
University Chaplain Joe
Eldridge—the man everyone
“considers their best friend,”
according to longtime pal and
SIS professor Philip Brenner—
retired in May after 19 years of
service to AU.
Eldridge, SIS/MA ’81, was the
Kay Spiritual Life Center’s ninth
and longest-serving chaplain.
He founded AU’s Alternative
Breaks Program in the wake of
Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and he
brought hundreds of prominent
speakers to campus for lunchtime
Table Talks, the Human Rights
Defender Series, and the annual
Poynter Lecture.
“Joe’s mark on AU is broad
and deep,” says Gail Short Hanson,
vice president of Campus Life.
He touched students, faculty, and
staff in all corners of the university
“who will miss his uplifting
presence and a rich legacy of
respect for human dignity and
social justice.”
President Neil Kerwin—whose tenure at AU as a student, professor,
and administrator spans 42 years—will step down in May 2017. The
university’s 14th president and the first alumnus to serve at its helm,
Kerwin has led the university for more than a decade, transforming the
institution’s academic quality, campus facilities, and national standing.
He was appointed interim president in 2005, having served as
professor, dean of the School of Public Affairs, and provost. Two years
later, the board of trustees appointed him president. “It has been my
privilege to lead this extraordinary institution at an important time in
its history,” Kerwin says.
“Neil Kerwin’s lasting impact on AU has been to elevate the
university and advance areas vital to its continued progress,” says Jack
Cassell, chairman of AU’s board of trustees. “The Kerwin era will be
remembered for a new level of academic and research rigor, a culture
of tackling the great issues, a commitment to make the university more
affordable, accessible and diverse, a reduction of the university’s carbon
footprint and investment in sustainability, increased engagement with
alumni, enhanced recognition and reputation, and a period of greater
impact in Washington, DC, across the nation, and around the world.”
Veteran campaign strategist, media commentator, and politicallyconnected
insider Donna Brazile has a new accolade to add to her
résumé: 2016 Wonk of the Year.
In February Brazile, who worked on every Democratic
presidential campaign from 1976 to 2000, became the fourth person
to collect AU’s Wonk of the Year honors. Previous winners include
Bill Clinton, Anderson Cooper, and Laura Bush.
A New Orleans native, Brazile serves as vice chairwoman of the
Democratic National Committee and as an on-air contributor for
CNN and ABC. Recently, she began dabbling in acting, appearing as
herself on—what else?—political dramas.
“I’ve appeared on The Good Wife and House of Cards, but after all
these years in American politics, I’m probably best suited for Game
of Thrones,” Brazile said. “I’ve dealt with just about everything
this side of dragons. But who knows? This political season is still
unfolding. I might be the dragon soon.”
STRING THEORY
Chemi Montes’ poster promoting the AU symphony orchestra’s fall
concert is among the graphic designs showcased in the new book
Creative Quarterly: 100 Best of 2015. Montes, director of AU’s graphic
design program, fashioned a leaf to look like a cello to publicize the
group’s first performance of 2014.
HISTORY NOT LEFF BEHIND
History professor Lisa Leff won the 2016 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for
The Archive Thief. The prestigious Jewish Book Council award carries a $100,000
prize. Leff’s book chronicles the story of Jewish historian Zosa Szajkowski, who
gathered thousands of documents from Nazi buildings and other public and
private collections in the wake of the Holocaust and smuggled them to New York.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 7

syllabus
PHILOSOPHY 485
Morality and the Movies
THE IDEA THAT
ENTERTAINMENT has a
cultural purpose beyond simply
entertaining people is fundamental
in western culture, says College
of Arts and Sciences professor
Ellen Feder. But since she teaches
philosophy, Feder’s statement leads
her to, of course, a question.
“What is film for us?” she asks.
Her course examines how film can
reflect and shape our conception of
the good life and the responsibilities
that this conception entails.
Movies on the syllabus include
Sophie’s Choice and When the Levees
Broke, a Spike Lee documentary that
examines the social implications
surrounding Hurricane Katrina.
Students also read works by
Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzsche.
“This is an opportunity to think
about film and ethics in a different
way,” Feder says. “Instead of
thinking about using films simply
to illustrate moral theories, to look
at how the actions or the choices
[of the characters] or the violations
represented help us put the moral
theory to work.”
The Palestinian documentary,
Paradise Now, is screened during the
first week of class. It’s a gripping look
at what motivates suicide bombers.
“Its intention isn’t to convince
you that suicide bombing is good;
the aim is to heighten sensitivity to
how this could be possible. Such a
conversation extends beyond the
easier questions of right and wrong to
consider broader questions, including
whether, in applying more theories,
we are asking the right questions.”
ILLUSTRATION BY ANTHONY FREDA
8 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

mastery
ILLUSTRATION BY PETER HOEY
2001
Was a college freshman
when planes slammed
into the World Trade
Center. The previous
weekend, he had sat
on a friend’s roof in
New York City, gazing
at the towers. “I WAS
ENAMORED WITH
THEM. THREE
DAYS LATER THEY
WERE GONE.”
2002
As an undergraduate,
launched a comedy
talk show on Wesleyan
University’s radio station.
1996
Published an underground
newspaper, the Media
Takeover, from eighth
grade through high school.
Jesse Sommer, WCL/JD, Kogod/MBA ’11,
was 22 years old in 2005 when the TV show
JAG (a military acronym for Judge Advocate
General) was cancelled after a successful
10-year run. He was embarking on a career
in media and had no idea his future lay in the
armed forces, where he would jump out of
planes and try cases. Today Captain Sommer
is a real-life JAG—practicing military law and
striving to embody both ideals of the JAG
Corps motto: “Soldier first, lawyer always.”
2004
Elected president of the
station. Leased unused
portions of airtime to
an NPR affiliate; used the
money to upgrade the
station’s technologies,
programming, and
studio space.
2005
Graduated from Wesleyan
with a BA in government and
landed an associate producer
job at Air America Radio.
“I WAS EXPOSED TO
THE LANGUAGES OF
INFLUENCE: LAW AND
BUSINESS. I REALIZED
I WANTED TO DO MORE
THAN JUST REPORT
ON THEM.”
2006
Took the LSAT and GMAT exams.
Launched TasteSpace.com—
a startup online bar and
restaurant guide.
2008
Helped launch a taxi sharing
platform called CabCorner.
Talked with Uber founder
Travis Kalanick before it was
on anyone’s radar. “BUT
IN PERHAPS THE
CENTRAL MISTAKE OF
MY LIFE, I THOUGHT,
‘THIS ISN’T GOING
ANYWHERE.’” Laughed
while recounting this.
2013
Attended army airborne school.
Despite a terrifying first
experience, he’s jumped nearly
30 times.
Reported for duty with the
historic 82nd Airborne Division
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Became a legal assistance
attorney, charged with
providing an array of legal
services to soldiers.
2010
While at AU, spoke to an army
field screening officer on
a whim. “I’D ALWAYS
BEEN INTERESTED
IN MILITARY POLICY,
BUT WHEN I MET [THE
JAG RECRUITER], I
BECAME COMPLETELY
INFATUATED WITH THE
IDEA OF SERVICE.”
More than 3,000 people
applied for 80 slots; he was
wait-listed. Accepted on the
second go-round in 2012.
2014
Promoted to chief of the legal
assistance office. Attended
the army’s jumpmaster and
air assault schools.
Assigned as one of the
military’s first special
victims’ counsels, tasked
with representing sexual
assault victims. Selected
to testify before the
defense department’s
Judicial Proceedings
Panel in DC. “IT’S A
FUNDAMENTALLY
NEW APPROACH TO
MILITARY JUSTICE.
FOR THE FIRST
TIME, VICTIMS ARE
PROVIDED WITH
ATTORNEYS TO HELP
THEM NAVIGATE THE
SYSTEM.”
2015
Tore his meniscus during
the last day of a pre-ranger
course. “I’M COMING
OFF 11 MONTHS OF
REHABILITATION
AND HOPING TO GIVE
IT ONE MORE SHOT.
SOME DREAMS DIE
HARD!”
Became a military prosecutor,
winning his first case.
2016
Preparing for reassignment
to Fort Polk in Louisiana.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 9

play
A white dry-erase board with
several columns of names
written in black hangs seemingly
innocuously over Barry Goldberg’s
desk. But make no mistake about
it—the names on that board largely
control his fate.
When one of his players
graduates, transfers, is injured, or
leaves the team, a name is wiped
away in an instant—but replacing
it can take months, even years of
work. The 17 names on the board
comprise his volleyball team’s
roster, and the talent, desire, work
ethic, and passion that each of
those women possesses to a great
extent determines whether he’ll
have another successful season.
That’s why adding names to the
board—recruiting—is perhaps the
most important part of his, or any
other college coach’s, job.
“There are a lot of variables
in recruiting,” says Goldberg,
who’s been doing it for 28 years
at AU. “I’m looking for players
who are good students, and who
are physical and bright enough
in terms of having a volleyball IQ.
I try to get players within that
range, then I have to do a good
job with them.”
Each year hundreds of players
contact Goldberg, hoping to land
one of the 12 scholarships he
can offer. When he started, he
was a part-time employee who
had just two scholarships at his
disposal. Since then he’s built
AU into a Patriot League power,
racking up 15 NCAA Tournament
appearances. He’s noticed that
potential recruits now know a
"I’m looking for players
who are good students,
and who are physical
and bright enough
in terms of having a
volleyball IQ."
—Barry Goldberg
lot more not only about AU’s
volleyball program, but about
the school in general.
During the off-season,
Goldberg and his assistants scour
the country—and the globe—in
search of players. He estimates he
spends between 30 and 40 percent
of his professional time recruiting.
In April, he went to California to
watch a club team tournament
featuring about 600 teams
competing on 65 courts in the Los
Angeles Convention Center.
“All of my evaluations have
everything to do with, who’s the
best team in the country, and what
do they have?” he says.
In LA he had dinner with a
potential recruit and her family.
He thinks he has a shot to land
her, but when you’re dealing
with teenagers, you never know.
A player may want to major in a
subject AU doesn’t offer, or may
have dreams (realistic or not)
of competing in a larger, more
prestigious conference.
Discussing the highs and lows
of recruiting, Goldberg sounds
likes he’s riding an emotional
roller coaster.
“It’s so up and down,” he says.
“You had this good player you
really wanted and she says no.
You’re dejected. And then you
get a good player that comes
through and you get a yes. But
you really don’t know how good
she is because she hasn’t played
for you yet.”
So Goldberg soldiers on, adding
names to his board and hoping for
the best.
HOON SHINES
Junior lacrosse star Madison Hoon was selected to the 2016 All-Patriot League second team.
The team MVP, Hoon led AU with 64 draw controls, setting a single-season school record.
She also tied for the team lead in caused turnovers with 16, while ranking second in ground
balls with 29. On the offensive end, she finished the year with 23 points on 16 goals and
seven assists, ranking fourth on the team in all three categories.
TRIO PLAYS NATIONALS
Three members of the AU field hockey team competed in the Young Women’s
National Championship, sponsored by USA Field Hockey, June 28 to July 2 in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Rising senior Natalie Konerth was joined by rising
juniors Katie McCormick and Samantha McCormick at the event. In addition,
AU assistant coach Kirstin Gebhart served as a coach in the tournament.
10 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

news
Source: 2014 District of Columbia Annual Epidemiology and Surveillance Report
HIV
EPIDEMIC
IN DC
(2013 numbers)
2.5%
OF TOTAL
POPULATION INFECTED
In 2015 the National Institutes
of Health awarded $7.5 million
to fund a city-wide consortium
of HIV/AIDS investigators in
Washington, DC. That five-year
grant launched the District
of Columbia Center for AIDS
Research, or DC CFAR—a
collaborative network of nearly
200 scientists and social scientists
from American University
and five other institutions:
George Washington University,
Georgetown University, Howard
University, the Children’s
National Medical Center, and the
Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The center is part of NIH’s
national CFAR program, which
provides scientific leadership,
infrastructure, and core services
for frontline research in the
prevention, detection, and
treatment of HIV infection and
AIDS—particularly in areas like
Washington, DC, where the HIV
rate remains epidemic, although
the number of new infections and
the percentage of the population
living with HIV have declined.
553
NEWLY DIAGNOSED
CASES
16,423
RESIDENTS
LIVING WITH HIV
Only 19 full centers across
the country have received the
prestigious CFAR designation to
date. For AU faculty, partnership
in the center has meant expanded
opportunities for research,
collaboration, and funding.
Kim Blankenship, AU
sociology professor and
department chair, codirects
the DC CFAR’s Social and
Behavioral Sciences Core, which
supports innovative research
to identify how social relations,
processes, and structures affect
HIV transmission, acquisition,
treatment, and care. Central to
the core’s mission is the forging
of collaborations between social
science investigators and their
counterparts in the sciences and
the fostering of relationships with
community partners, including
the DC government, to ensure the
maximum potential for impact in
improving prevention approaches
and clinical care.
AU is unique among DC
CFAR partner institutions to
have scholars embedded in
12,446
BLACK RESIDENTS
LIVING WITH HIV
52
HIV-RELATED
DEATHS
social science disciplines and
engaged in the study of HIV/
AIDS from varying perspectives.
The university’s Center on
Health, Risk, and Society, also
headed by Blankenship, provides
resources to an interdisciplinary
community of academic
researchers, who apply social
science theory, concepts, and
methods to analyze health
and health risks from multiple
dimensions—social, political,
cultural, economic, historical,
and legal.
“One of the great strengths
of the DC CFAR is that it
represents a highly committed,
multidisciplinary group of
researchers,” Blankenship says.
“Through our collaborations, we
can challenge the epidemic from
many different directions: we have
people doing research to try to
find a cure, people doing research
to identify new models for linking
people to and keeping them in
care, and people doing research to
understand how social processes,
structures, and behaviors create
vulnerability . . . I think it will
take all of this to ensure not just
that the overall rates go down but
that the disparities are eliminated
as well.”
Presumptive presidential nominees Hillary
Clinton and Donald Trump are gearing up
for what promises to be a tough scrimmage,
throwing into relief their positions on
various issues, including higher education
and how to tackle rising costs.
Under Clinton’s New College Compact,
more than half the total funds allotted
will go toward grants to states and public
colleges to ensure that students
• don’t have to take out loans for tuition,
books, and fees to attend a four-year
public college in state
• receive additional support to defray
living expenses
• get free tuition at community colleges
• contribute their earnings from working
10 hours a week
• benefit from innovative programs that
allow federal student aid to be used for
career training and lifelong learning
• receive early notification of eligibility
for Pell Grants, which can be used for
living expenses
Clinton’s plan will also cut interest rates
on student loans, allow refinancing of
loans at the current federal rate, provide
relief on interest from student debt, create
a consolidated income-based repayment
program, demand risk sharing and
transparency from colleges and universities
about metrics, and crack down on illegal
practices at for-profit schools.
Her plan will cost about $350 billion over
10 years. It will be paid for by closing tax
loopholes and expenditures for the wealthy.
Where does Donald Trump stand on
higher education? You won’t find a position
statement at donaldjtrump.com, and both
the candidate and the campaign have been
quiet about education policy specifics
during the primaries. In May his national
campaign cochair offered an outline of
ideas currently being prepared for the fall
campaign—including getting government
out of student lending, requiring colleges
to share in the risk of loans, discouraging
borrowing by liberal arts majors, and
moving the Department of Education Office
for Civil Rights to the Justice Department.
GRAY’S THE NEW GREEN
In April AU’s Gray Hall became the third building on campus
to earn the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) seal of approval.
The building, which houses faculty offices, earned the
silver certification for existing buildings.
THE FUTURE’S SO (FUL)BRIGHT . . .
AU was among the top producers of Fulbright students in
2015–2016. Twelve Eagles—more than 30 percent of AU’s 38
applicants—received the US State Department’s prestigious
grant, enabling them to study and conduct research for a
year outside the United States.
LEGAL EAGLES
In its best showing yet, SPA’s team placed third in
its division at the American Mock Trial Association’s
national tournament in April. The seven-person squad
placed sixth overall among 663 teams, and junior Anna
Mehrabyan took home the All-American Witness Award.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 11

paint_the_town
FOLLOWING
By Adrienne Frank
Don’t let DC’s buttoned-up reputation fool you: this city has a colorful side. In March, the Huffington
Post named Washington one of the 15 best cities in the world for street art—and for good reason. DC’s
seeing a “huge mural boom,” says Cory Oberndorfer, CAS/MFA ’08, a studio artist who crafted a largerthan-life
orange Push-Up in DC’s NoMa neighborhood as part of a 10-day paint fest called POW! WOW!
“In a public space you can reach people who don’t take the time to visit a museum or gallery but still
have the ability to appreciate art,” Oberndorfer says. “Work you see on the street is allowed to play for
an immediate read, while traditional studio art usually asks for more time and investigation.” We scoured
the streets and picked 30 of our favorite sidewalk masterpieces. Check out #dcstreetart and follow us on
Instagram (@au_americanmag) for more eye-popping stencil graffiti, poster and sticker art, and murals.
101 posts 118 followers 142 following
unclecory
streetartofdc streetartofdc cra66x streetartofdc
streetartofdc alexamacseidl streetartofdc streetartofdc cra66x

adrienne.frank
mariafernandezgold
cra66x
streetartofdc
neillhughes
kaitlinnicholerymer
streetartofdc streetartofdc streetartofdc alexamacseidl
streetartofdc adrienne.frank au_americanmag malecodc streetartofdc
korofina
kingcelia
streetartofdc
streetartofdc
cra66x
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 13

in the community
SLIGO CREEK STOMPERS,
The Fuss, Medications, and Caz and
the Day Laborers.
Local music fans who listen to
WAMU 88.5 may hear a slew of songs
they recognize this summer. The
station’s Capital Soundtrack project
is overhauling the music it plays
during news breaks and programs like
Morning Edition with Matt McCleskey,
the Diane Rehm Show, and the Kojo
Nnamdi Show and dedicating all of its
interlude music to DC-area artists.
DC sound
Andi McDaniel, WAMU’s director
of content, and Ally Schweitzer,
the station’s music reporter, are
the brains—and ears—behind the
project. The two strive to craft a
“WAMU sound” that’s fresh and
distinctly DC. “We want the music we
play on air to tell a story about our
region’s culture,” says Schweitzer,
who runs the station’s music website,
bandwidth.wamu.org.
Right now, WAMU is relying on staff
suggestions, but “going forward,
we’re going to be incorporating more
listener submissions,” she says.
Thus far, WAMU’s showcased
songs from acts like jazz vocalist
and DC native Akua Allrich and
electronica artist Andrew Grossman,
whose “Death to Rockville Pike” no
doubt resonated with WAMU listeners
sitting in traffic on the bustling
Maryland road.
“We have no preference for genre
or style; we just need the music to
be instrumental and suitable for the
news and talk shows during which we
play it,” Schweitzer says. “Interstitial
music is special. Its mood needs to
match the tone of what we’re putting
on the air.”
“This is Us”
SPEEDWELL
Start to Finish
“Naiad”
AERIALIST
Moon Patrol
“Furniture”
OTIS INFRASTRUCTURE
The Red, Red Robin
“What’s Happening Brother”
MARVIN GAYE
What’s Going On
“Afrocentric”
“October”
SAM PHILLIPS
Stay the Night
“Pray for Snow”
THE SEA LIFE
In Basements
“Dit Floss”
PROTECT-U
Free USA
“Colleen’s Wedding”
LANDS & PEOPLES
Pop Guilt
“You’re a Liar”
14 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

wonk
American asks four wonks
to weigh in on a single topic.
THIS ISSUE: TIMING
ALESSANDRA
CONTI
SOC/BA ’12
LIZ
RUSSO
SPA/BA ’00
NOBUE
MATSUOKA
BRENDAN
JOHNSON
CAS–SPA/BA ’17
ILLUSTRATIONS BY TRACI DABERKO
I work with men and women
who’ve decided that this is the
moment to start dating with
intention. I see this especially
with male clients. A guy might
have dated the most incredible
women in the past, but if he’s
not ready, you could be Beyoncé
and it’s not going to work. They
have to be in a place in their
lives where they’re open to
love. An example: one of our
bachelorettes is serious about
her faith and went to talks at
religious organizations around
Los Angeles. We set her up with
a fantastic guy and they fell in
love. A few months into the
relationship, they discovered
that their paths had crossed
before—they were even at one
of the same talks. It wasn’t that
they saw each other and weren’t
interested, it just wasn’t their
time. I’m a romantic at heart;
I believe that if two people are
supposed to be together, it will
happen—when the time’s right.
Conti is a professional matchmaker at
Matchmakers in the City in Beverly Hills,
California.
Timing is everything in comedy.
Some people have it naturally;
most do not. Comic timing
involves rhythm, tempo, and
most importantly, the—wait for
it—pause. Using the pause at the
right time and for the right length
of time will make your punch
lines more impactful and affect
the audience’s response. If you
pause just a second too long or
unintentionally, everyone feels
awkward and all you’ll hear are
crickets (chirp, chirp). But if you
pause perfectly and intentionally
before a punch line—for just
the right length of time—bam!
You get the big payoff of laughs
and an applause break. It’s an
exhilarating art to manipulate
words and silences and to create a
comedic melody of bits and beats.
Create tension (set-up). Relieve
tension (punch line). Repeat.
If you dare to shut up once in a
while, you’ll find the real power
of timing is in the silence.
Russo is a standup comedienne in Easton,
Pennsylvania.
Timing is an essential part of
our lives. There are two kinds of
timing. One you can’t control—
that happens incidentally. The
other is something you can
control. The world of music
and performing arts is all about
timing. If you’re talking about
a symphonic orchestra, a big
cymbal crash can enhance the
music and make it dramatic,
or—if it’s bad timing—it can ruin
the music. Percussion provides
the foundation for everyone to be
together in an ensemble setting.
For example, the timpanist is
almost like a second conductor.
They have control of the tempo,
so they have to be in sync with
the conductor. Timing is one
way to express yourself in music.
Tempo and rhythm are all about
timing. They give different
characteristics to the music
depending on how and when you
play. The same things can be
said of life in general.
Matsuoka is AU’s music/performing arts librarian
and an orchestral percussion instructor in the
Department of Performing Arts.
I’ve been a competitive runner
since my freshman year of high
school. In running, time trials are
a check of your fitness at practice.
It’s just you against the stopwatch.
That’s always a frightening track
workout, because you don’t know
what kind of shape you’re in. [AU
Coach Centrowitz] always says
there are three gods of running:
the weather, the stopwatch, and
the coach. In a competitive event
I’m usually just worried about the
people I’m running against. Even
though timing is important to
qualify for certain NCAA events,
in cross country especially we try
to avoid talking about our personal
records because every course is
different. You want to stay relaxed
as long as possible in any distance
event, just biding your time and
trying to be as comfortable as
possible. Runners want to race
our seasons like we race our races.
We have to stay comfortable
throughout the general season and
save some for the burst at the end
of the year.
Johnson is a runner on AU’s cross country
and track teams.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 15

wonk
Q. Text.
A. Text
Hakim Fobia, SPA/MPA ’07
Marketing specialist, Agricultural Marketing
Service, US Department of Agriculture
Text
Joseph Marhamati, CAS/MS ’09
Physical scientist, US Department of Energy
PROFESSOR
Text
Katherine Scheidt, SIS/MA ’16
Public affairs specialist, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture
16 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

Dan Sonnett, SOC/MS ’98
Video producer and owner, Sonnett Media Group
Chelsi Slotten, CAS doctoral student
Social media manager and research assistant,
Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian National
Museum of Natural History
Tony Cohn, SOC–CAS/BA ’15
Brand marketing assistant,
Smithsonian Office of Public Affairs
Mandana Yousefi, SPA/MPP ’10
Policy analyst, US Department of Agriculture
An urban playground. A laboratory for learning. A professional hub.
A vibrant collection of neighborhoods—and neighbors. Washington’s
got it all. And for our alumni, students, and faculty, Metro is their
ticket to ride, connect, and explore AU’s backyard.

PHOTOS BY AMANDA STEVENSON LUPKE
Jane Gomez doesn’t know whether the
man sitting three feet from her at her
dining room table is smiling. She’s not
sure what color shirt he’s wearing,
and she can’t tell that he’s sporting a short,
neatly-trimmed beard, or that his hair is
buzzed close to his head. She sees only a faint
outline of his eyes, nose, and mouth.
The man—me—sees something wholly
different. He sees a petite 52-year-old woman
with shoulder-length brown hair and dark eyes
that frequently dart from side to side, but never
focus. He sees a woman who observes her
world through an ever-narrowing, darkening
field of vision, yet never allows that to slow
her down. He sees an accomplished attorney,
a proud mother, a loving wife, and a tireless
advocate for those who, like her, suffer from
retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of inherited
diseases that cause retinal degeneration.
Gomez, WCL/JD ’89, sees the world as
a blurry kind of beautiful.
“People say that 90 percent of the
information that comes into your brain is
through your eyes, so when you lose that you
really have to find ways to compensate,” she
says. “RP is not life threatening, but it’s
certainly life altering.”
As she makes her way around her beautiful
Short Hills, New Jersey home, sunlight
pouring in from its many skylights, windows,
and sliding glass doors, Gomez walks not
tentatively, but rather, measuredly. She’s
memorized the floor plan and the layout of the
furniture, but she still extends her arm, feeling
for familiar landmarks before taking each
step. Gomez’s vision is now 20/1000, so she’s
learned to rely on her other senses.
“She’s an incredible listener, and she has
remarkable retention,” says her husband of
30 years, Ramon. “She remembers names,
numbers, addresses. She devotes more brain
cells to adapting and performing than I devote
to everything I do.”
I ask Gomez if she’d be able to recognize
me by sight if we were to meet again.
“Oh no,” she says quickly. “But I could
do it from your voice.”
Growing up in suburban New Jersey,
Gomez always had poor vision, but she wasn’t
diagnosed with RP until she was 16.
The doctors’ message was chilling.
“They told me that I had this disease
and I would go blind,” she recalls. “They
didn’t really know when, but my parents
freaked out, started doing research, and
found the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Just being hooked into that community was
really lifesaving.”
18 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

Although her eyesight was continually
fading, Gomez says she was in “serious” denial
about her condition until her mid-30s. Family
and friends knew, but she’d tell potential
employers only that she “didn’t see well.”
On at least one occasion, her poor
sight proved fortuitous. As a freshman at
Georgetown University, she was trying to track
down a friend when, struggling to see the dorm
room numbers, she knocked on the wrong
door. Ramon, her future husband, answered.
At Washington College of Law, her aptitude
for memorization made her the envy of many
of her classmates.
“There was nothing you could say to her or
that she read that she didn’t remember,” says
Lisa Fried Greenberg, WCL/JD ’89. When I
asked Gomez for her longtime friend’s cell
number, she rattled it off without hesitation.
Who knows phone numbers these days?
“She always got what the professors were
saying, and she knew how to argue. I think
she had a photographic memory.”
After earning her law degree, Gomez went
to work at the Justice Department’s Executive
Office for Immigration Review, adjudicating
cases at the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Gomez has always felt a special bond with
immigrants; her grandparents came to the
United States from Russia and Poland.
“My belief is that this country can absorb
a lot, and we benefit from immigrants’
creativity and industriousness,” she says.
“There were also a lot of people fleeing really
horrible conditions in their countries. Within
the bounds of the law, I thought there were
certain people that should be allowed to stay.”
Following a stint at the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, Gomez went back to
the Justice Department, where she worked
in the civil division defending the INS against
lawsuits. Among her most important work was
serving as an attorney on Cuban American Bar
Association v. Christopher, which determined
the rights of tens of thousands of Cuban rafters
who fled the country for the United States
and were detained at the US Naval Station at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
It was a high-profile case, one for which she
received a handwritten thank you letter from
then-Attorney General Janet Reno. Gomez was
determined not to let her visual impairment
hinder her. During a visit to Guantanamo Bay,
she discreetly clutched the arm of a lieutenant
colonel, allowing him to lead her while she
joked about the military’s then “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” policy.
“If I got up and walked down the street I
might trip on a curb, but my reading was fine,”
she says. “But I slowly had to come to terms
with getting more assistance.”
It wasn’t until after the birth of her second
child that Gomez’s sight declined precipitously.
At the time she was in private practice, but she
put aside her law career to volunteer for the
PTA, navigate the maze of special education
services for her dyslexic daughter, Rachel,
and raise money for the organization that
comforted her when she was diagnosed 36
years ago.
“She’s asked to do these things because she’s
so smart—her challenges are not relevant,”
Ramon says. “I think that she’s always had a very
keen sense of the fact that she needs to be better
than anybody else. Not to prove herself, but she
just refuses to be defined by her eyesight.”
Earlier this year Gomez was named a
national trustee of the Foundation Fighting
Blindness, which she and her family have
supported for years. Her father, Ed Gollob,
served as director of the board of trustees
for nearly 30 years, and Ramon has been a
trustee since 2004. Dedicated to preventing,
treating, and working toward a cure for RP,
the foundation was established in 1971 and has
raised more than $650 million toward research.
“We select national trustees based on
demonstrated leadership and support for
the organization,” says William Schmidt, the
foundation’s CEO. “It’s a special designation
for the people who have shown on a continued
basis that they’re going above and beyond the
call of duty to help support us. Jane and her
entire family are a tremendous example of that.
We would not be accomplishing what we’re
accomplishing without the kind of passion
and commitment and financial support and
leadership that her family has provided.”
Progress has been encouraging. Fifteen
years ago there were no human clinical trials
focusing on retinal degeneration. Today, there
are 20, Schmidt says.
“It’s very possible within the next year to
year and a half that we could have the first gene
therapy in our field approved by the FDA,” he
says. “It could possibly be the first gene therapy
of any kind approved in the United States. That
would be a very big day for our community.”
And for Gomez. These days she struggles
to read, relying on text-to-voice software on
her computer and i-devices. An assistant helps
her shop for anything she can’t buy online.
She doesn’t drive, which makes Uber, she says,
a godsend.
Still, she remains an optimist at heart.
“In my head I’m thinking there’s going to be
a cure, maybe when I’m 60, or 70,” she says.
“The science is going to get us to where we’re
either going to get vision back or we’re going
to slow deterioration. That’s why I’ve decided
to take a greater role in the foundation.”
To Jane Gomez, the future looks bright.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 19

BY MIKE UNGER

PHOTO BY MOLLY CHOMA
Savannah Graybill has sped down Lake
Placid’s Olympic bobsled track, on which
she’s currently walking, faster than any woman
in the history of skeleton. She’s pointing out
the curves, embankments, straightaways,
and chicanes she navigates at speeds that
can reach more than 80 miles per hour. It’s a
bright, warm June day in upstate New York,
and the run, which will be iced by October and
routinely traversed by some of the best bobsled,
luge, and skeleton athletes in the world, is quiet
and peaceful. A bevy of colorful butterflies
relax on the concrete floor, fluttering their
wings while soaking up the sun.
“Out of curve three, we always hit the
wall,” says Graybill, SOC/BA ’10, who’s
wearing sneakers, shorts, and a tank top,
instead of the aerodynamic, skintight suit
and helmet she races in. “It’s not hard, and
it doesn’t hurt, but it’s the fastest [route]. In
curve four, you have more speed, and you’re
actually suctioned to the wall. This is where
the track starts to get fun.”
Graybill’s idea of fun is probably different
from yours or mine. A former field hockey
player at AU, she’s living her second athletic
act as an Olympic hopeful in skeleton, a
sliding sport in which an athlete rides a small
sled—with no brakes—down a frozen track at
a dizzying pace while lying on their stomach.
She’s not alone in her quest for gold: three
other AU athletes—including her former field
hockey teammate and fellow member of the
US women’s skeleton national team, Megan
Henry, SPA/BA ’09—also are working toward
Rio de Janeiro and PyeongChang, South Korea
(site of the 2018 winter games).
They have endured not days, weeks, or
months of sweat and setbacks in pursuit of
their goal, but years. Years of missed holiday
and birthday celebrations; years of doing just
one more lap, one extra rep, all with an eye
toward achieving greatness in a sport that’s
not likely to bring them fortune or fame.
“You have to be a big dreamer if you think
you’re going to make any kind of money, at
least in running,” says Kerri Gallagher, CAS/
MS ’15, who’s attempting to qualify for the
US Olympic track and field team in the 1,500
meters. “But [competing in the Olympics]
is one of those things that you grow up
dreaming about. It would be great for me
personally, but it would also validate all the
work my coaches did with me along the way.”
Her sentiments could have come from the
mouth of any of AU’s potential Olympians.
FOR
SAVANNAH
GRAYBILL
AND
OTHER
AU
OLYMPIC
HOPEFULS,
GLORY
IS
ONE
WORKOUT
AWAY.
When the summer games begin in August in
Brazil, Caylee Watson, SPA/BA ’17, will be
competing as the lone female swimmer for
the US Virgin Islands, an American territory
with its own flag, national anthem, and
Olympic team.
“I want to be realistic and make sure I’m
prepared for everything,” she says. “I’m always
happy with personal improvement. I don’t
want to let my country down, that’s for sure.”
Graybill’s path to skeleton had as many
twists and turns as the track she’s
strolling down on this Friday morning. A
native of small, rural Denver, Pennsylvania,
in high school she ran track, and played field
hockey and basketball. Field hockey brought
her to AU, and she hoped one day it would be
her ticket to the Olympics.
“While I was doing some of the right things,
at the end of the day it wasn’t going to happen,”
she says. “I had given up that dream, and a
week later I got this email.”
Elana Meyers, a bronze medalist in bobsled
at the 2010 games in Vancouver, was contacting
college strength coaches looking for athletes
to try her sport. Graybill, relatively strong
and fast, fit the prototype, and headed to Lake
Placid after she graduated for a tryout. She
fared well at the combine, but the coaches
felt her smaller body size was better suited
to skeleton, so she enrolled in sliding school
and began hurling herself down tracks at
speeds faster than many people drive their
cars. Although her first ride was “slightly
terrifying,” she quickly was hooked.
“I’ve always loved things that get me a
little amped up,” she says. “When you’re
sliding and you get in the zone, you don’t
think of anything else. My first ride I was
like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I need
to do this again.’”
Graybill started a bit late to seriously
contend for the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia,
but displayed enough potential to earn a spot
on the national team and become a United
States Olympic Committee-sponsored athlete,
which allows her to live and train at the
Lake Placid Olympic Training Center during
the summers. A typical day starts early and
includes weight lifting, speed and agility
work, and drills at the facility’s push track,
a rubberized straightway at which she can
practice her starts (skeleton athletes begin
their runs by pushing their sleds) and loads
(the term for mounting the sled).
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 21

It’s no vacation. Although Graybill’s room
and board are paid for (also, she receives a
small stipend), she has to fund the rest of
her living and travel expenses, which are
significant. In the winters, she competes in
events throughout Europe and North America.
She’s waited tables in the past, but found eighthour
shifts too physically taxing after five-hour
workouts. This summer she’s working at Dick’s
Sporting Goods and pursuing an MBA online.
Lake Placid, which hosted the Winter
Olympics in 1932 and 1980, is a quaint town in
the bucolic Adirondack mountains. Tourists
flock to it in summer, but it can feel isolated
and confining to the twentysomethings who
train there. Graybill, 28, has sacrificed much,
but regrets little.
“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN
MY DREAM TO
COMPETE IN THE
OLYMPICS, AND TO
FIND A SPORT LIKE
THIS THAT FEELS
LIKE NOTHING ELSE,
IS AWESOME.”
—SAVANNAH GRAYBILL
“The hardest part about competing and
doing this after college is that my peers are
all getting jobs and starting families, and I
live out of a suitcase six months a year, I live
in a dorm five, and one month I live at home
with my parents,” she says. “I still have bills
to pay. I can’t work year round, and finding
work that pays well is hard. But I’m sledding
for a living. It’s so worth it. It’s always been
my dream to compete in the Olympics, and
to find a sport like this that feels like nothing
else, is awesome.”
Graybill’s career trajectory was
progressing nicely until a poor run in Park
City, Utah, in January left her off the World
Cup team. It was a devastating setback, but
Graybill was determined not to allow it to
become a fatal one.
“You either let it affect you and you get
super bummed out, or you react in a way that
motivates you and makes you better. I chose
the latter,” she says. “Even though this year was
my dip year, my coaches were pleased with
my results. I won races, my world ranking is
higher, so I feel like I’m back on the path up.”
Graybill currently is ranked fourth on the
national team. With only two or three spots
available for American sliders at the Olympics,
she has some work to do before the final
selections are made in January 2018. But AU
field hockey coach Steve Jennings believes
Graybill has both the physical and mental
makeup to succeed.
“Savannah is a tremendous athlete who
before coming to AU had a very well-rounded
sports background,” he says. “I believe this
versatility allows her to have an amazing
kinesthetic awareness and facilitates rapid
skill acquisition. This is essential in all
sports but particularly in skeleton where
the slightest body error can have huge
ramifications in terms of both safety and
result. Mentally, Savannah was always tough
whether it was a brutal track workout, playing
through injury, or competing against the top
teams in the country. I think the challenge of
being a student-athlete and some of the things
she experienced with field hockey helped
her learn over time that she could do more
than she ever thought she could. Once this
becomes your default mindset, discovering
and realizing your true potential becomes a
passion-filled pursuit for greatness.”
Elite athletes harbor enormous confidence,
and Graybill is no exception. As she explains
the technical nuances of the nearly milelong
track on which she holds the record
(55.04 seconds), it’s clear that she believes
she is the best-equipped skeleton athlete
to master them.
In order to achieve maximum speed, she
straddles the line between control and chaos.
“You always want to be to the point where, if
you miss a steer, things could go really wrong,”
she says. Somewhat remarkably, she’s endured
only one serious crash. During a race in Latvia,
she flipped over and landed on her back—and
her sled landed on her. Luckily, she suffered
only a misaligned spine.
The 5-foot-6 Graybill extends her left arm
over her head and points to a spot where the
sliders whip around the track at practically
a 90-degree angle. This stretch is called
the highway, and even Graybill admits that
watching people come through here can be
“a little scary.” She smiles as she says this.
“Sometimes you black out when you slide,
because you are so focused and in the moment
you’re not thinking about anything, you’re just
letting your body do what it’s supposed to do,”
she says. “That whole [record-setting] run I
only remember two things that I could have
done a little better. Had I not had the one issue,
I would have had that 54. And I wanted it.”
Maybe in South Korea, she’ll get it.
In high school, Kerri Gallagher loved
basketball, but basketball didn’t love her.
“I wasn’t very good,” she says. “I think the
only reason I was any good at any sport was
because I was pretty quick.”
Today, she’s even faster. In the four-plus
years she’s been training with AU track coach
Matt Centrowitz, Gallagher has transformed
herself from a solid runner into a worldclass
one. In June 2015, she finished third
in the women’s 1,500 at the USATF Outdoor
Championships, solidifying her status as a
serious Olympic contender.
After a decorated career at Fordham
University, Gallagher took a job at Morgan
Stanley and settled into a standard nine-tofive
life (with a soul-sucking three hour daily
commute). But something kept gnawing at her.
22 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AU ATHLETICS
“EVERY ATHLETE’S
DREAM IS THE
OLYMPICS,
REGARDLESS OF
HOW REALISTIC IT
IS. IT’S EXCITING
THAT MINE’S
COMING TRUE.”
—CAYLEE WATSON
“Some people finish their collegiate
careers and they know they’ve reached their
potential, or they feel like they’ve given all
they can to the sport,” she says. “But I felt like
I had a lot more to give and a lot more to get.”
So her high school coach introduced her to
Centrowitz, himself a former Olympian, who
hired her first as a volunteer, then as a parttime,
and ultimately as a full-time assistant
coach. As her times fell her notoriety rose,
and now she’s sponsored by Nike and training
vigorously for the US Olympic trials in July. In
April she suffered a setback when her appendix
was removed, sidelining her for four weeks.
For a runner who averages 10 to 12 miles a day,
sedentary is not a comfortable state.
Even if Gallagher, 27, falls short at the
trials, she’s not ready to hang up her swooshes
and return to the corporate world just yet.
“As long as I feel like I’m still getting better
and competing on a national, and hopefully
international, level I plan to keep going for
the next four years or so,” she says. “Things
really broke wide open last summer when I
made the World [Championships] team. Very
few people were expecting that, but I knew
it was possible.”
Caylee Watson, 21, is a newcomer to the
world stage. She grew up on St. Croix,
an experience she says was “just as great as
you would think it would be.” She started
swimming competitively at age 12, but didn’t
realize how much better she could become
until she arrived at AU in 2014. During her
freshman year, she dropped four seconds on
her time in the 100-meter backstroke, the
event she’ll compete in at the Olympics.
“In high school I was not nearly as fast as I
am today,” she says. “I’ve gotten stronger; I’ve
put in more practices; I’m in the weight room;
I have more technique instruction. Being
part of a team really changes things. When I
graduated I was the only girl in my class who
was a swimmer. It’s hard not having people to
compete with.”
Watson was named to the Virgin Islands
team by its swimming federation. Because
of its size and status as an insular area of the
United States, it is afforded a “universality
spot” by the International Olympic
Committee. Watson, who’s training at AU
with Eagles swimming coach Mark Davin this
summer, isn’t taking an I’m-just-happy-to-bethere
approach to her upcoming meet in Rio.
“I expect to set a significant best time,” she
says. “Every athlete’s dream is the Olympics,
regardless of how realistic it is. It’s exciting
that mine’s coming true.”
Savannah Graybill, Megan Henry, and Kerri
Gallagher are still working, with the hope that
theirs will too.
IF YOU’VE
WATCHED
MARCH
MADNESS
BASKETBALL
the past few years, you’ve seen the commercials
featuring young men and women sweating buckets
while pushing their bodies to the limit.
“There are over 400,000 NCAA studentathletes,”
one of them says in a voice-over, “and just
about all of us will be going pro in something other
than sports.”
When the general public thinks about college
athletes making it to the big time, they’re picturing
football and basketball players from traditional
powerhouses getting drafted into the NFL and NBA.
But even at smaller schools like AU, not all studentathlete
careers end at graduation.
A handful of former Eagles are earning a living
playing their sport professionally in leagues other
than the ones showcased on ESPN. They do so
for a number of reasons, but usually, amassing
monster paychecks is low on the list.
“It’s definitely about the basketball,” says John
Schoof, Kogod/BSBA ’15, who played professionally
in Spain last season. “I’m not chasing the money.
You can make a nice salary but it’s not like NBA
money or soccer money.”
Playing in a European league is a very
real option for men’s basketball and women’s
volleyball players who have talent, desire, and
a zest for exploration and adventure. Tony
Wroblicky, Kogod/BSBA ’14, played one season
in Germany before signing with a Belgian team
based in Willebroek, a city outside of Antwerp.
“I wasn’t really sure how I’d view basketball by
the time I graduated,” Wroblicky says. “But I had a
good four years, so I still wanted to play.”
Clubs pay for most Americans’ lodging, food,
and vehicles during the 10 months they’re under
contract. Salaries vary widely, so for many expats,
it’s all about saving while they’re away from
home. While living and playing in Europe can seem
glamorous, there’s little time for non-work travel.
Adjusting to different languages and lifestyles
can be tricky. Kelly McCaddin, SOC/BA ’15, played
volleyball in Pamplona, Spain, last season. She calls
the experience “incomparable,” but admits she was
homesick at times and won’t be going back.
“It was a weird transition for me,” the New
Jersey native says. “I didn’t have a super fun
time with some of my teammates. I was the only
native English speaker, that was really hard. My
team didn’t do well, and I was down about that.
But I’m glad I did it. There’s nothing like immersing
yourself in another culture.”
Wroblicky and Schoof both plan to play
at least one more season overseas, as does
Monika Smidova, Kogod/BSBA ’15, MS ’16, who
will compete in Poland’s top women’s volleyball
league. They won’t be on SportsCenter anytime
soon, but they’ll be playing the games they love,
and you can’t put a price tag on that.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 23

FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 25

Cirque
du
Street
Play
BY BRAD SCRIBER
PHOTOS BY DANI PIERCE STEUBER
When he’s not flying through
the air with the greatest of
ease, trapeze artist Darren
Rabinowitz is running away
with Street Light Circus:
the greatest show in DC.
arren Rabinowitz is frozen in
mid air, dozens of feet above
the ground at DC’s Navy Yard,
unsupported by any ropes,
strings, or harnesses. His
shoulders slowly pivot half a
turn as his inertia transfers
from the parabolic arc that launched him
skyward to the arc that will guide him back
to the bench-sized trapeze platform where
he started. But then—midtransition—his body
stops and reverses course, frame by frame.
“You’re like a rocket ship. Don’t change
anything,” his catcher and coach says,
critiquing a video of their practice swings
recorded just minutes earlier.
The flyer in this trick, Rabinowitz, CAS/
BA ’15, is honing a maneuver called the
Backend Planche. The name means “plank”
but the stunt is an order of magnitude harder
than the namesake exercise of sea-level
workouts. “It’s all physics,” Rabinowitz says
of the maneuver. The clean lines in the bright
lights with precision handoffs are the classical
components of the circus arts—and the skill it
takes to perform them is hard won.
On this cloudy April evening, Rabinowitz,
23, flies to the second trapeze with almost
perfect posture: elbows locked, palms down.
But he’s diving too soon. He’s reaching for
the return bar when he should be soaring
just a bit longer, trusting that it will swing
out to meet him, just so.
The rigging around him would overwhelm
most indoor spaces, but it’s right at home in the
brightly lit, custom-built structure that houses
Washington’s branch of the Trapeze School
of New York, TSNY–DC. White plastic walls
have been stretched over a maroon-colored
metal frame that looks like the underside of a
giant beast’s skeleton. Squint, and Rabinowitz
is Geppetto in gym shorts, sailing a tall ship
inside the belly of a white whale.
Rabinowitz first tried trapeze 11 years ago
at a summer camp in the Poconos and now
teaches it at this rig in southeast DC, and
while coaching bubbly bachelorettes and
trepidatious teens through the same basic
moves is enjoyable, it leaves little opportunity
to experiment. That’s why, a few nights a
month, Rabinowitz swaps the spotlight for
the streetlight, collaborating in the city’s
shadows with aerialist Montana DeBor,
juggler Christian Kloc, and photographer
Dani Pierce Steuber. They call their sidewalk
sideshow Street Light Circus.
It was born in December, over a blueberry
pie Steuber had baked from scratch, when
the quartet began to ponder something less
constrained. They wanted to leave behind
the safety rules of TSNY–DC, where DeBor,
Kloc, and Steuber also teach, and sneak
the circus out of the tent, into the hidden
corners of the city. As DeBor puts it, they
wanted something more “risky, sexy, gritty.”
They wanted to pose atop concrete blocks.
They wanted to suspend themselves from
chains. They wanted to juggle fire.
They have done all that and more.
Street Light Circus is the name they picked
once they realized they were gravitating to
this nocturnal light source in their urban
backdrops, but before this, Steuber just called
the project “Montana’s Dangerous Circus.”
The troupe shares the photos of their
outings—mostly shot in moody black and
white—on Instagram (@streetlightcircus),
but the pictures have also been featured in a
gallery exhibit and are on display at an Eastern
Market eatery. When a photo is purchased,
they agree never to make another print of that
image. It’s a decision that connects them to
the ephemeral nature of the circus, the “air of
mystery that comes into town and then goes
away,” as Rabinowitz puts it.
Arranged in stories, the photos capture
conversations the group is having with each
other and with their surroundings. They are
pushing their bodies to improbable poses
in surprising environments without any
planned routine. There is a contemplative
quietness in the photos made more possible
by the darkness. They mirror one another’s
posture, arrange their bodies into towers that
echo the shapes of buildings around them,
and extend their arms and legs to offer each
other counterbalance. It’s still physics, but it’s
physics at play with the world around them.
“I’m drawn to circus artists,” Steuber says.
“They are so much fun to photograph. They
are not afraid to be in front of the camera
because they are performers, but they also
do these incredible feats of strength.” Take,
for example the photo of Rabinowitz in a
spread-eagle, one-armed handstand, his
shadow stretched out on the alley below his
silhouette, or one of DeBor, back arched,
held aloft by Rabinowitz’s feet, while he
himself hangs by his fingertips from the
support beam of a bridge.
Steuber is learning how the three
performers want to look in their photographs,

26 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

“The
city is an
incredible
stage for
art and
circus.”
—Montana DeBor
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 27

28 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

and testing how far she can push them. The
troupe is an egalitarian, supportive, and
improvisational collaboration but, during
the photoshoots, Steuber takes on the role
of ringmaster, alternating between praise
and direction: “Good job.” “Do a backbend
or something static.” “Yeah, got it.” “I don’t
think that’s the right window; we’ll find
the right one someday.” “Take one step left
and then two giant steps backwards.” “Not
another ‘pushy’ thing. Try something more
‘arch-y.’” “Awesome.”
The project has changed the way they see
the city, which DeBor notes is “an incredible
stage for art and circus.” As they move
through their day-to-day routines they are
constantly scouting locations.
Rabinowitz now can’t glance at any
building’s façade without immediately
asking himself, “Where can I hang off
of that?” He relishes how the art draws
something out of the physical environment.
“I can use my body and my talent as an
extension of the architecture,” he says, “and
add humanity to a place.”
Once they find a location, they don’t
always ask permission, but—luckily—they’ve
rarely had to ask forgiveness either. When
people figure out what they’re doing and see
that it’s not malicious, they generally leave
the group alone.
Police from a K-9 unit interrupted them
one night while DeBor was dangling from
a chain clipped under a bridge near the
Anacostia River. Over the dog’s aggressive
barking, Steuber offered herself up as
spokesperson for the group. The officer said
to her, “We got a report that there was a
woman hanging from the bridge.”
“Oh. She’s alive,” Steuber responded,
“she’s a circus artist,” realizing with some
horror that a poor passerby had caught a
glimpse of one of their poses and thought
the worst. The officer seemed relieved. “I
thought for sure he was going to have us take
the chains down, but he just said ‘that’s fine;
keep going,’” she recalls.
They’ve turned enough heads that they
are developing a plan for a live performance.
One night, DeBor was perched atop Kloc’s
shoulders playing her violin as he juggled,
with Rabinowitz moving and posing in the
space around them. People slowed down
to watch. A family hopped off their Capital
Bikeshare bikes and the father hushed
them into quiet observation. “That’s it,”
“I can use my
body and my
talent as an
extension of the
architecture, and
add humanity
to a place.”
—Darren Rabinowitz
Rabinowitz thought to himself. “That’s how
we start a show.”
“Circus is inclusive,” Steuber says. “It
draws people in.” Once, while shooting photos
of Kloc juggling in the Metro, she turned the
camera away from Kloc to capture the faces
of the crowd that gathered around them. The
curiosity of the audience had upstaged the
performance and also become an important
part of it. Afterwards, the crowd stuck around
to ask questions and talk. “It opened up this
conversation,” she says. “I see that as the role
of contemporary circus.”
They’d like to engage people in other cities
as well. “We’d love to take it internationally.
That’s kind of the dream,” Rabinowitz says.
Rabinowitz, who combined disciplines to
create a new major at AU called Performance
Art and Power and has worked with circus
outreach programs on multiple continents,
has described himself as a “cultural
diplomat.” It’s a title that connects him to
a long tradition of educational and cultural
exchange efforts, like Nixon’s ping-pong
diplomacy or the Fulbright fellowships,
which have allowed people to interact across
borders even when leaders are wary to do so.
Charles Dickens saw a pattern of empathy
and openness in circus culture that he
termed the “wisdom of the heart.” Dozens
if not hundreds of “social circuses” are
leveraging this openness to facilitate peace
and understanding in places with painful
histories and ingrained mistrust.
Rabbi Marc Rosenstein founded the
Galilee Circus in 2003, which has since
brought together a few hundred Jewish and
Arab kids to collaborate on performances.
In Coexistence and Reconciliation in Israel,
he explained, “circus is a multicultural/
international tradition, languageindependent,
non-competitive, based on trust
and cooperation, transcending divisions of
class and age.” He sees the opportunities and
is undeterred by the limitations, pointing
out that “circus will not bring peace to the
Middle East. But it can help to make dialogue
possible by reducing fears, lowering barriers,
and building trust.” He’s proud to say that the
connections formed between the kids have
spread. There’s now also a parents’ group that
plans social events for the families.
Clowns Without Borders South Africa
sees play as a vital tool to break through
destructive social patterns. In conjunction
with the University of Oxford’s Centre for
Evidence-Based Intervention, they have
begun quantifying the impact that clowning
and circus arts can have on reducing abuse in
communities ravaged by HIV and AIDS.
“One of the key elements of circus has
always been not just the furtherance of
diversity but the celebration of diversity,” says
Ed LeClair, the director of Circus Smirkus, a
professional circus in Vermont that recruits its
younger performers via exchanges with more
than 30 countries. Smirkus will be performing
among the monuments at the 50th anniversary
of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2017.
The organizers recognize that “circus arts are
now experiencing a grassroots revival focused
on live human performance and creativity.”
Street Light Circus is part of that revival,
and while they have rehearsed at the
Kennedy Center and Rabinowitz performed
at last year’s White House Halloween party,
they draw most of their creativity from the
more anonymous corners of the city, at least
for the time being.
Like circuses of days gone by, Street
Light Circus may pack up and move away
before too long. DeBor is going to spend the
next year studying at the elite New England
Center for Circus Arts, and Rabinowitz is a
finalist for a fellowship that could take him
to Budapest.
“I don’t see it as one thing ending. I see
it as continuing to learn as an artist,” he says
optimistically.
At the end of the summer, Rabinowitz
may find himself launching skyward once
again, riding the momentum of what he has
done in this past “year of experimentation,”
turning to meet the opportunities that are
swinging into place, just so.
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 29

NETWORKING AT THE PLAYGROUND, WORKING AFTER BEDTIME:
TWO WCL ALUMNAE ARE REDEFINING WORKING MOTHERHOOD
BY MIKE UNGER
ILLUSTRATION BY MARGARET KIMBALL
E
ven for Rebecca Geller, today’s a
crazy busy one. It started eyerubbing
early. When her husband
left the house at 5:30, she already was up.
Five-year-old Noah, the middle of their three
children, has strep throat, and because she’s
scheduled to give a speech, she had to arrange
special child care for him, while getting sevenyear-old
Sam to the bus stop, before dropping
two-year-old Emily at day care.
During her drive from their home in
Fairfax Station, Virginia, to the talk she
delivered on basic legal needs to a gathering
of real estate agents in nearby Arlington,
she interviewed a paralegal that her Geller
Law Group is considering hiring. After her
presentation she sat in her Toyota Sienna
minivan and quickly scrolled through the 112
emails she’d received during the hour-long
event, then drove to the Fairfax office the
firm rents on an as-needed basis.
“This afternoon I have a couple of calls
to do consultations with clients,” she says
from an 11th floor conference room with a
beautiful view of mountains in the distance.
“I’ll probably stop working by 4:30 because
my kids go to different child cares, and it’s
a long circuit to pick everyone up. Baseball
games are around 5:30, then dinner and bed,
then I’ll sign back on to the computer and
work for a few more hours.”
It’s exhausting just listening to Geller,
SPA/BA’02, WCL/JD ’07, for whom every day
is a carefully choreographed dance of familial
and professional obligations in her roles as
mother and wife, boss and attorney.
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I wanted to create a business model
that made sense to working [mothers],”
says Geller, who launched the firm in
2012. “You don’t have to put in 90 hours a
week and never see your kids in order to
be a successful lawyer. We encourage our
employees to work from home, and they
build their schedules around the lives of
their families as well as the clients. If you
hire an employee to do work that you trust
them to do, why would you not trust them
with their schedule? I believe that just as
much business can be done at a playgroup
as it can at a golf course. I didn’t think it
was revolutionary.”
Actually, it was.
I
n 2011 Geller was working at a 500-
attorney firm, doing what lawyers at
such outfits do: logging endless face
time at the office.
“One of the things that frustrated me is
if a client project came in on a Friday at 5:00
and I spent 30 hours on it over the weekend,
on Monday morning I’m still expected to be
30 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

there for my normal hours—even if there’s
not a lot to do on Monday morning because I
worked 30 hours over the weekend,” she says.
“That just doesn’t work for families or people
who have other interests in their lives.”
So Geller struck out on her own,
determined to craft a nontraditional work
environment that “wasn’t defined by men.”
She began accumulating clients, added
a paralegal, and in 2013 got an email from a
Washington College of Law classmate. Maria
Simon, WCL/JD ’07, was a new mother in a
state of professional transition and looking
for a fresh opportunity. The two hit it off, and
Simon came on board full time. Today, she’s a
senior partner.
“We are the opposite sides of the coin,”
says Simon, who has a strong background in
litigation. “I supervise our legal work, and
Rebecca is a phenom at business development.
I have some clients that I’ve brought in, but
for the most part this is the way we operate.”
“She jokes that I’m the Don Draper
without all the alcohol,” says Geller, who
describes herself as more of a business
attorney. “I regularly take my 2-year-old to a
music class, and we have a wonderful time.
Interestingly, I have met a number of families
there who have become clients. Networking
while the kids are playing happens more
For Rebecca Geller and her children Noah, 5, and Emily, 2, life’s not all work and no play.
than you can believe. I’ve gotten a number of
clients from Chuck E. Cheese birthday parties.
I keep business cards in my diaper bag.”
Simon, whose son, Jack, is five, splits her
time working from her home in Washington’s
Crestwood neighborhood and the firm’s main
office space in Fairfax. If she needs to, she can
meet with clients at any of the 12 locations the
firm has access to around the area. From 5 to 8
p.m. she tries to avoid her phone and focus on
family. Court is closed, and for the most part,
work can wait until Jack’s in bed.
“Even though we might be working from
home, there’s still designated child care,”
Simon says. “I think that’s a misnomer of
working from home. Even though I only have
one child I’m not as productive if he’s sitting
right next to me. I can’t do anything. Of course
it’s as soon as I get on the conference call
that he needs my full attention.”
C
ommunication among the six
(all female) attorneys in the firm,
which specializes in wills and
trusts, family law, trademark contracts,
and providing general counsel to small
businesses, is key. Geller and Simon cc each
other on every email they send, so that if
they’re unable to deal with a work situation
because they’re handling a family one at
home, the other will be able to pick up
the slack.
Geller says she’s more productive and
efficient now than when she was a classic 9-to-
5er (more like a 9-to-7er). If one of the attorneys
has a dentist appointment or has to take a sick
kid to the doctor or sick dog to the vet, she does
it. As long as the quality or timeliness of their
work doesn’t suffer, Geller doesn’t care when
or where her attorneys do it. It’s not a setup in
which everyone automatically thrives; they’ve
had attorneys leave to work in a more traditional
office setting.
Still, their business model has caused
people to take note. The New York Times
ran a story highlighting the women and
the firm on the front page of its business
section in May 2015. The piece positioned
Geller as a leader in the work-life balance
space, and she has spoken about 50 times
around the country. The firm has been
named a top telework company by Forbes,
received buyout offers from larger firms, and
routinely gets unsolicited résumés (mostly
from women). It even attracted pitches from
several reality television producers and the
TV show Shark Tank.
Geller and Simon have politely declined
all the offers. They’re focused on their everexpanding
roster of nearly 1,400 clients, one
of whom is Denise Stern. The president and
CEO of Let Mommy Sleep, a company that
provides overnight care to newborns, Stern’s
thoughts are typical of many of Geller’s clients.
“Rebecca is so clearly qualified and dedicated
that I trust the team to work however they are
most comfortable,” she says.
In fact, most of the firm’s clients don’t care
about its day-to-day work structure at all,
Geller says. Whenever they need a face-toface
meeting, they get one.
“When I’m on the phone they have my
attention,” she says. “What do they care
where I am? Just because it’s always been
done this way doesn’t mean it’s the right way.
When people say, ‘This is how you have to do
it,’ I’m a big believer in asking, ‘Why?’
“I want the people who work for our firm
to be happy in their jobs and happy in their
lives because that attitude gets passed on in
the work that we do for our clients. There’s
always that illustrious ‘can you have it all?’
I think what we’ve created is as close as we
can get.”
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 31

1927 1930
1960
1970
BY ADRIENNE FRANK For nearly nine decades, the American
University yearbook—first published in 1927 as the Aucola and
renamed the Talon in 1956—documented the changing face of AU.
Victory rolls led to beehives, Afros, and perms; cat-eye glasses came and went and came
back again; and the student body began to reflect the racial and cultural diversity that
1990
32 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

1940
1950
is becoming AU’s trademark. As Alice and Elsie gave way to Jenni and Julie, however,
yearbooks gave way to Facebook and in 2014, the Talon was published for the 88th and
final time. Due to increasing costs and the rise of technology, university yearbooks are
going the way of the mullet, according to AU archivist Susan McElrath. The Talon, she
says, held on longer than most.
1980
2000
2010
FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 33

There wasn’t a white shirt to be found as AU’s South Asian Student
Association hosted the annual Holi on the Quad, April 20. Students
danced and pranced in clouds of fuchsia, turquoise, canary yellow,
and lime green, as they celebrated the traditional Hindu festival of
color. “I enjoyed seeing so many of my good friends playfully fighting
with each other,” says sophomore photographer Marley Hambourger,
who captured the colorful event for AU’s Photo Collective. “But it
was a challenge to avoid getting covered in the Holi powder myself!”

PHOTO BY MARLEY HAMBOURGER, SOC/BA ’19
1950s
Martin Ries, CAS/BA ’50,
exhibited three paintings in Big
Ideas in Small Packages, curated
by Arlé Sklar-Weinstein and
Luis Perelman, at the Blue Door
Gallery in Yonkers, New York.
1960s
Sherry Mueller, SIS/BA ’65, and
Mark Overmann, SIS/MA ’05,
released a second edition of their
book Working World: Careers in
International Education.
-1966-
TIME
CAPSULES
TOP TUNE
“Ballad of the Green Berets,”
Robin Moore and Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler
TOP-GROSSING FLICK
Hawaii
IN THE NEWS
Supreme Court decides
Miranda v. Arizona, protecting rights
of the accused; Star Trek debuts;
Medicare is launched
AT THE HELM
Norman Early was 1966–1967
Student Association president.
He’s now special counsel at
Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley,
PC in Denver.
1970s
Marcia Bartusiak, SOC/BA ’71,
was included on the PEN Literary
Awards longlist for science and
sports writing.
Beryl Lowenthal Feinberg, SIS/
BA ’71, was elected to a second
term on the Rockville, Maryland,
City Council. She received the
most votes among nine candidates
vying for four seats.
Evelyn Lincourt, SOC/MA ’71,
was featured at the Worcester
Women’s History Project’s
“Women in Print” event for her
book Mansions of Magnates:
America in the Mad 20th Century.
She was also featured in the
December 2015 issue of Worcester
Magazine.
Dennis Lucey, Kogod/MBA ’72,
cochaired the American-Ireland
National Gala in Washington,
DC, March 16. The gala
honored Senator
Tim Kaine of
Virginia, former
Speaker of
the House
John Boehner,
and Michael
Flatley of Lord
of the Dance and
Riverdance. More than
$1 million was raised for
Irish causes around the world.
Janet Janjigian, SOC/MA
’73, board member at Lupus
LA, honored fellow alumna
KNOW
ABOUT UPCOMING
EVENTS. VISIT
AMERICAN.EDU/
ALUMNI/EVENTS.
I would go by the
old houses and
say to myself,
‘I wonder who
lived there.’”
—Evelyn Lincourt,
SOC/MA ’71, on how
her childhood fascination
with history inspired
her book, Mansions of
Magnates: America in the
Mad 20th Century
Danielle Claman Gelber, SIS/
MA ’82, with Lupus LA’s Woman
of Achievement Award at the
annual Hollywood Bag Ladies
lunch to raise awareness
and fund research
to find a cure for
lupus. Gelber
is executive
vice president
of Wolf Films
and executive
producer of
Chicago Fire,
Chicago PD, and
Chicago Med. Janjigian
is executive managing director of
the Carmen Group.
Robert Scuka, SIS/BA ’73,
published “A Clinician’s Guide
to Helping Couples Heal from
the Trauma of Infidelity” in the
Journal of Couple and Relationship
Therapy. He also contributed
a chapter to Evidence-Based
Approaches to Relationship and
Marriage Education.
Doug Fisher, Kogod/MBA ’74,
wrote African American Doctors
of World War I, which chronicles
104 black physicians who
volunteered for the Army.
Monica Bernier, CAS/MFA ’76,
put on exhibitions in the Bowery
Gallery and Prince Street Gallery
in New York City.
Thomas Ryan, SIS/MA ’78,
received an honorable mention
in the nonfiction category for the
2015 Delamarva Book Prize for
his book Spies, Scouts and Secrets
in the Gettysburg Campaign.
1980s
Simon Carmel, CAS/MA
’80, CAS/PhD ’87, traveled to
Stockholm, Berlin, Stuttgart,
and Cologne to lecture on “deaf
folklore,” which he first began
exploring in 1977.
Leland Gamson, CAS/MEd
’81, has written five children’s
books for Sojourn Publishing:
Lokael: The Donkey Who Carried
Jesus; Samson at the Olympics;
If Your Dog Were a Human; Why
Can’t Dogs Talk?; and Where Is
Grandpa?. Five more are being
illustrated. He also writes a
monthly column for Hope In
Him magazine.
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 35

-1986-
TIME
CAPSULES
TOP TUNE
“That’s What Friends Are For,”
Dionne Warwick and Friends
TOP-GROSSING FLICK
Top Gun
IN THE NEWS
Supreme Court reaffirms abortion
rights; space shuttle Challenger explodes
after launch, killing all seven on board;
Nintendo makes US debut
FROM THE AU ARCHIVES
The Ramones treat 1,000 rowdy fans (250
over capacity for the Tavern) to an hourlong
set, which includes fistfights, slam
dancing, and flying beer cans.
NIK OBRIECHT, SIS/BA ’04
+ PAUL CAVALIERI, SPA/BA ’04
Some days Nik Obriecht and Paul Cavalieri commute to work in a manner their customers dream
of: on bikes. They help run Race Pace Bicycles, ONE OF THE NATION’S LARGEST
INDEPENDENT BIKE DEALERS. The company, which has five locations in and around
Baltimore, was started by Obriecht’s father, Alex, in 1978. He’s still the sole owner, but his son, who’s
worked there in some capacity since he was 12, and Cavalieri, who came on board five years ago, are
KEY PARTS OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM. “Bicycles have become this romanticized
symbol of a lot of different things,” Cavalieri says. “Some of that is the FREEDOM TO EXPLORE.
We’re a big part of this city, and we’re looking to get more people on bikes and IMPROVE THINGS
IN BALTIMORE.” The two, who occasionally are mistaken for brothers, hit it off immediately
on an alternative spring break trip to Mexico while they were at AU. After graduating, Obriecht went
(back) to work for Race Pace, while Cavalieri taught elementary school in Brooklyn then worked
for a bicycle nonprofit in Denver. When Obriecht needed someone to help oversee the downtown
Baltimore store’s move to a larger location, HE TAPPED HIS OLD FRIEND; they now help
steer a company with more than 40 full-time employees. Providing those workers—and the 60 or
so part-timers they hire during the summer—with stable, well-paying jobs is a priority. “We’re
trying to make this somewhere PEOPLE CAN MAKE A GOOD LIVING in an industry
that traditionally doesn’t pay enough,” Obriecht says. “It’s a family business. Not just the Obriecht
family—IT’S THE RACE PACE FAMILY.” In cycling, they see nothing but the potential for
growth. “Bikes have and will continue to have a very important role in the DEVELOPMENT
OF OUR URBAN CENTERS,” Obriecht says. “It’s exciting to be a part of that.”
David Smith, SPA/BA ’82, wrote
Peace Jobs: A Student’s Guide to
Starting a Career Working for
Peace for undergraduate students
and high schoolers.
Laurence Gordon, CAS/MSTM
’84, retired as lead engineer from
the Mitre Corp in McLean,
Virginia, after 36 years of aviation
research and the publication of
more than 80 technical papers.
While at Mitre, he tutored dozens
of students in math and was an
adjunct math professor at
Northern Virginia Community
College. He continues as a tutor in
Beaufort, South Carolina, where
he lives with his wife, Patricia.
Ann Marie Mehlert, WCL/JD ’84,
was named a principal in the law
firm of Lerch, Early & Brewer in
Bethesda, Maryland.
Nancy Swing, SIS/PhD ’86,
wrote her first novel, Malice on
the Mekong, a murder mystery
36 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

set in Laos in the early 1990s,
when Nancy and her husband
lived there. She is retired from
international consulting and lives
on California’s central coast.
Kenneth Cutshaw, WCL/LLM ’87,
was appointed interim president
and chief executive officer of
Gardent City Group, LLC.
Jesse Dunbar, SIS/BA ’87, joined
Barclay Damon, LLP’s New
York City office as a partner. He
specializes in insurance coverage
and regulation, professional
liabilities, and commercial
litigation.
1990s
Jacqueline Jones, CAS/BA ’90,
launched Divine Beginnings,
LLC, which offers a multicultural
line of custom-designed apparel
for infants and children featuring
biblical scriptures, spiritual
symbolism, and inspirational
messages.
Matthew DeLeon, SPA/BA ’91,
began his 10th year as secretary
to the board of commissioners
for Cook County, Illinois. He
celebrated 23 years of service to
the county in April.
Ken Siegel, SPA/BA ’91, has
published his first novel, The
Courts of Garrowville. He lives
in Florida with his wife Heather.
Garrowville.com.
Rossella Carrara, SIS/BA ’92,
joined APCO Worldwide as the
deputy managing director of the
Rome office.
Elizabeth Bilek Tucker, CAS/
BA ’93, and her husband Matthew
have launched a new social media
app called Thinking About.
Rich Rosen, Kogod/BS ’94, will
be inducted into the Pinnacle
Society, a consortium of the 75
top agency recruiters in North
America, for his work in the
recruiting and staffing industry.
Saima Huq, SOC/BA ’95,
produced and costarred in
Pygmalion, the sophomore
production of her off-Broadway
theatre company, Always Love
Lucy Theatre. The May 2016
production featured Elijah
instead of Eliza. This follows the
company’s 2014 production of
Death of a Salesman, featuring a
South Asian Loman family.
-1991-
TIME
CAPSULES
TOP TUNE
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,”
Bryan Adams
TOP-GROSSING FLICK
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
IN THE NEWS
Soviet Union breaks up after President
Gorbachev’s resignation; Anita Hill
accuses Judge Clarence Thomas of
sexual harassment; Nirvana releases
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”
FROM THE AU ARCHIVES
In what School of Communication dean
Sanford Ungar calls “a friendly, cordial
split,” SOC officially breaks away from the
College of Arts and Sciences.
There is more than one kind of minority,
and I thought that this particular change
might be a very powerful and supportive
route to take.”
—Saima Huq, SOC/BA ’95, on her production of Pygmalion,
which featured Eliza Doolittle’s transition into Elijah
James McGrath Morris, CAS/
BA ’96, was included on the PEN
Literary Awards longlist in the
category of biography.
Samara Aberman Sit, SOC/BA
’97, was named assistant dean for
communications at the Cornell
University College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences.
Heather Taylor, SOC/MA ’97,
wrote, directed, and produced
a documentary called Breaking
Through the Clouds about the
first women’s national air derby.
The film aired nationally on PBS
World in March 2016.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Marvin,
SPA/CAS ’98, WCL/JD ’03,
was promoted to partner in the
Washington, DC, law firm, Lewis
Baach PLLC.
Christopher Ruhlen, CAS/BA
’98, was named a principal in the
law firm of Lerch, Early & Brewer
in Bethesda, Maryland.
Rebecca Wyhof, SPA/BA ’98,
was elected to her second term on
the Sanford, North Carolina, City
Council.
Staci Garner, CAS/BA ’99, and
her husband Andrew French
welcomed their daughter Fiona
Jean Louside on September 9, 2015.
2000s
Elizabeth Pennington, SOC/
BA ’00, and husband Michael
welcomed Elizabeth Jean
Pennington on February 10, 2016.
Elizabeth joins big brothers
James and Joshua. The family
lives in Kingsville, Maryland.
Jay Eitner, SPA/BA ’01,
Waterford Township School
District superintendent, was
named 2015 Educator’s Voice
national superintendent of
the year and a 2016 national
educator to watch at the annual
Bammy Awards.
Michael Lamm, SIS/BA ’02,
and Simone Lamm, SOC/BA
’03, welcome their second child,
Temma Eden Lamm on October
29, 2015.
John Nahas, Kogod/BS ’02,
joined Marsh & McLennan
Companies, a global professional
services firm, as vice president,
cybersecurity consulting and
advisory services at Marsh Risk
Consulting.
Tim Sini, SPA/BA ’02, was
confirmed as the new Suffolk
County police commissioner.
CONNECT
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AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 37

class notes
Service officer with USAID. She
lives in Accra with her husband
Fernando and their children Sury,
Leah, and Matteo.
for G.I.s that aired in November.
It documents the struggles
veterans face when they separate
from the military.
Q. HOW HAS AU WELCOMED INCOMING
FRESHMEN TO CAMPUS?
A. Although the AU Student Government began organizing concerts,
movies, and barbecues for incoming freshmen in the 1940s, summer
orientation wasn’t formalized until 1980 with the launch of SORC. Given
a better acronym
(SOAR) seven years
later, the two-day
orientation is now
called Eagle Summit.
Highlights include
a performance by
the political satire
group, Capitol Steps,
and Freshman
Service Experience
(FSE), during which
students fan out
across the city to engage in service projects. More than 10,000 freshmen
have participated in FSE since 1991.
The Eagle has also published special orientation issues with tips for
living and playing in DC. In 2008, the paper suggested that the nowdefunct
Jandara was the best place for a hot date, calling the eatery
“the Carmen Electra of Woodley Park cuisine: exotic, yet approachable
and very, very sexy.”
EMAIL QUESTIONS for AU history wonk Susan McElrath
to magazine@american.edu.
Chad Appel, SPA/BA ’03,
married Dennis Johnson in
November 2015. Alumni in
attendance included Pam
Bertelson, SIS/BA ’03, Ilissa
Gould, SIS/BA ’03, Josh
Leibowits, SIS/MA ’06,
Margaret McElligot, SIS/BA ’03,
Laura Northrop, SPA/BA ’03,
Julie Fishman Rayman, SPA/BA
’03, Rachael Tabakman, SPA/BA
’03, Brian Weiss, Brian Westley,
and Brett Zongker, SOC/BA ’03,
SOS/MA ’04.
Andrea Harrington, WCL/JD
’03, was named partner in the
law firm of Hellman Shearn &
Arienti, LLP in Great Barrington,
Massachusetts.
Demethius Jackson, SOC/
BA ’03, wrote “The Realmsic
Conquest: The Hero of Legend,”
which was selected from 75,000
entries for the 2015 Watty award
for best use of visuals.
Nora Maresh, SIS/BA ’03, SIS/
MA ’04, began her first overseas
tour in Ghana as a Foreign
Caroline Angell, CAS/BA ’05,
published her debut novel All the
Time in the World.
Jaison Desai, SPA/BA ’05,
SPA/MPP ’06, received the
General Omar N. Bradley
Officer Research Fellowship in
Mathematics, presented by
the Foundation Board
of Governors of the
Omar N. Bradley
Foundation. He
also received
the William J.
Fraering award
for outstanding
alumni service
from the Delta Tau
Delta international
fraternity.
Doug Gritzmacher, SOC/MFA
’05, produced a documentary
feature for DirectTV called Jobs
DC has long been
a boxing and
wrestling town,
and I am very
proud to be a part
of carrying on
that tradition.”
—Andrew Huff,
SPA/MPA ’07, on his service
on the District of Columbia
Boxing and Wrestling
Commission
UPDATE
YOUR CONTACT
INFORMATION AT
ALUMNIASSOCIATION.
AMERICAN.EDU/
UPDATEINFO.
David Hodges, SIS/BA ’05,
WCL/JD ’10, and Ilana Cohen
were married on March 12,
2016 in Winter Park, Florida.
Matthew Hodges, Kogod/
BA ’09, was the best man and
Michael Inganamort, SPA/BA
’06, was a groomsman.
Katelyn Keegan, SPA/
BA ’05, SPA/MPA
’07, married Kyle
Harding, SIS/BA
’02, SIS/MA ’14, in
November 2014.
The ceremony
was performed
by Travis
Crytzer, SPA/BA
’05, SPA/MPA ’07, and
photographed by Mary Kate
(McKenna) Battles, SIS/BA ’06.
Betsy Adams, SOC/BA ’06, was
named director of the Office of
Fraternity and Sorority Life at
Wake Forest University. While at
AU, she was president of Alpha Chi
Omega sorority.
Scott Eshom, SIS/BA ’06, entered
the Army after graduating from
AU and spent 10 years deploying
to the Middle East, ultimately
completing his career as a Special
Forces Green Beret. He is happy
to return to the DC area with
his wife, join Goldman Sachs’
Veteran’s Integration Program,
and reconnect with classmates.
Janell Lewis, SOC/MA ’06,
newsroom manager at the ABC
affiliate in Columbus, Georgia,
was named a top five leader
under 40 by Columbus and the
Valley magazine. The Courier
Eco-Latino newspaper also
38 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

-2006-
TIME
CAPSULES
TOP TUNE
“Bad Day,” Daniel Powter
TOP GROSSING FLICK
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
IN THE NEWS
Saddam Hussein is convicted of
crimes against humanity and hanged
in Baghdad; lobbyist Jack Abramoff
is sentenced to six years in prison for
fraud; International Astronomical Union
revokes Pluto’s status as a planet
AT THE HELM
Ashley Mushnick was 2006–2007 Student
Government president. Today, she’s
deputy director of speechwriting at the
US Department of Commerce.
PHOTO BY DEBRA MOSER
named her a young professional
on the move and recognized her
service to the community.
Andrew Huff, SPA/MPA ’07, was
nominated by DC Mayor Muriel
Bowser and confirmed by the DC
Council for service on the District
of Columbia Boxing and Wrestling
Commission.
Val Rossi, SOC/BA ’07, was elected
to the 2016 board of directors for
Healthcare Leaders of New York,
a local chapter of the American
College of Healthcare Executives.
Jeffrey Buras, SOC/BA ’08,
is producing environmental
documentaries about
conservation, wildlife
management, and outdoor life for
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Christopher Mejia-Smith, CAS/
BA ’08, accepted a position as a
business controller at Elsevier in
Philadelphia.
MITCH BERLINER, KOGOD/BSBA ’70
+ BETH O’CONNOR BAKER
At 67 years young, Mitch Berliner is just beginning his competitive swimming career. A lifelong
recreational swimmer, Berliner last year decided—seemingly out of the blue—to set his sights on
BECOMING THE SENIOR MICHAEL PHELPS. His first goal: to swim for the United
States at the 2016 Pan American Maccabiah Games in Chile—WITHOUT EMBARRASSING
HIMSELF. So Berliner teamed up with AU assistant swimming coach Beth O’Connor Baker for
intensive training. “I HAD TO RELEARN HOW TO SWIM,” Berliner says. “My head was in
the wrong position, my ear was coming out wrong, my kick was wrong. It took four or five months
of working very hard to un-train my muscle memory.” In Berliner, Baker saw she had an eager
student. “HE WAS LIKE A PUPPY DOG, SO ANXIOUS TO LEARN,” she says. “He
was saying ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that,’ but he was actually pretty good for never having had any
organized training. He was an incredible joy to work with.” At the games in Santiago, an offshoot
of the international Jewish multisport competition held quadrennially, Berliner’s first heat was the
50-meter freestyle. “I was pretty nervous because I’D NEVER DIVED OFF A BLOCK,” he
says. “When I finished I was out of breath and never even looked up to see my time. I found my wife
and she said, ‘You beat everybody.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding me, the guy next to me was 42 years old.’”
Berliner went on to win four gold medals and a silver in his age group. THE LESSON IS IT’S
NEVER TOO LATE. “It’s easy to say, I’m 67 years old, I didn’t swim in high school, I didn’t swim
in college. But it’s never too late to jump into anything if you put your mind to it.” Berliner now hopes
to compete in next year’s Maccabiah Games in Israel—and for years to come. “I’M HOPING TO
MAKE IT AT LEAST UNTIL 80 because then the number of competitors is less.”
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 39

vision + planning = legacy
SUE HEADLEE, PHD/CAS ’86
AND JEFFREY REIMAN
What began as a donation of a garden
to the economics department has
turned into a legacy of giving for Sue
Headlee and her husband, Jeffrey
Reiman, both professors emeritus in
the College of Arts and Sciences
Headlee taught economic policy
in the Washington Semester Program
(WSP) from 1987 to 2010. The garden,
part of the AU Arboretum, was given
in memorial to her PhD advisor,
Cynthia Taft Morris, and to the
economics department for promoting
her to associate professor and for
enabling her to create two courses in
economic policy, which she taught
for four years after retiring from WSP.
Together, Headlee and Reiman,
the William Fraser McDowell
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
and Social Policy, are establishing
an endowed scholarship in
philosophy and, through a provision
in their estate plans, the Jeffrey
Reiman Professorship in Ethics and
Political Philosophy.
As lifelong academics, promoting
the humanities through their support
was a shared priority for the couple,
who split their time between
southern France and DC’s West End
neighborhood. “AU was always good
to us,” says Reiman, who in 1970
began teaching at the School of
Public Affairs’ Center for
Administration of Justice (now
known as the Department of Justice,
Law and Criminology) before joining
CAS’s Department of Philosophy and
Religion in 1988.
“We hope that our gifts will
promote the study and teaching of
philosophy at American University.”
For information on how your
vision and charitable estate
planning can create a legacy at
American University, contact
Kara Barnes, director of planned
giving, at 202-885-5914 or
kbarnes@american.edu, or visit
american.edu/plannedgiving.
40 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

top picks
A budding bibliophile at the age
of 5, Annie Lyon, CAS/MA
’03, always had her sights set on
a career in the stacks.
“I knew I wanted to be a
librarian since I was a little girl.
I loved reading and talking about
books—and scanning things was
a huge draw,” she laughs.
Now as a children’s librarian at
DC’s Martin Luther King
Jr. Memorial Library—the
city’s central branch—Lyon hosts
story time for toddlers and book
clubs for teens; helps middle
schoolers with research reports;
and leads craft projects for
preschoolers to commemorate
such literary holidays as Beverly
Cleary’s 100th birthday (April 12)
and the 90th anniversary of A. A.
Milne’s Winnie the Pooh
(October 14).
Perhaps the best part of Lyon’s
job, however, is introducing
young readers to some of her
childhood favorites: Caps
for Sale, Madeline, and Curious
George.
“I’ll always recommend the
classics to kids. From Charlotte
and Wilbur of Charlotte’s
Web to Maurice Sendak’s
Max, children’s literature is full
of characters who make indelible
impressions on readers.”
LYON’S FAVORITE CHILDREN’S
LITERATURE CHARACTERS:
1. ANNE SHIRLEY
As a kid I harbored a secret wish to be
L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
She marries Gilbert Blythe and gets to
wear that dress with the puffed sleeves!
I love Anne for her prattling tongue, her
ability to get into and out of scrapes, and
her imagination.
2. PETE THE CAT
The easygoing feline’s mantra—“it’s all
good”—relaxes readers and puts life’s little
mishaps into purr-fect perspective. Reading
one of James Dean’s books has the same
effect as one hour of meditation.
3. MELISSA
Melissa is a girl who the world sees as a boy
named George. Alex Gino’s sweet, moving
novel centers on a conflicted transgender
child who isn’t sure how to come out until
a performance of Charlotte’s Web sets
everything in motion. George reminds readers
that books are both windows and mirrors.
3. ALEXANDER
Judith Viorst’s tale of one boy’s terrible,
horrible, no good, very bad day taught me
that it’s okay to be cranky sometimes. I can
relate to Alexander’s frustration with life’s
little irritations; I still read this on no good,
very bad days.
5. DICEY TILLERMAN
With quiet dignity, Dicey, the eldest daughter
in Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming, leads her
siblings across several states in search of
their mentally disabled mother. She faces
one roadblock after another but refuses to
give up.
6. THE LOGAN FAMILY
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a must read
for all children. The strength of the Logan
family, sharecroppers in Depression-era
Mississippi, ties Mildred Taylor’s book
together. Sassy Cassie is my favorite.
7. AUGUST PULLMAN
R. J. Palacio’s Wonder lives up to its
name as a charming chapter book about
courage, friendship, and acceptance.
Auggie is the real wonder, though, bravely
facing a pack of middle schoolers who
aren’t always kind.
8. FRANCIE NOLAN
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
was my first favorite “grown-up” book.
Francie’s love of reading opens doors for
her, lifting her out of poverty. I cheered her
every success.
9. ELOISE
Much of Kay Thompson’s Eloise went over
my head as a child, but the adventures of
the Plaza Hotel’s naughtiest resident never
fail to delight. Whenever I’m in New York
I stop by the hotel’s lobby to pay homage
to Hilary Knight’s painting of the perennial
six-year-old.
10. RAMONA QUIMBY
Beverly Cleary’s Ramona has irresistible
spunk and energy that invites trouble.
I felt just like her as a child—we shared
big mouths and worries about parentteacher
conferences. We would’ve been
best friends.
9
2
8
10
1
3
5
6
7
4
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 41

FOUNDED IN 1630,
BOSTON IS A CITY OF
FIRSTS. From the country’s
inaugural subway system (1897)
to its first public library (1854),
the City on the Hill has always
been a hub of innovation,
education, and culture.
New England’s largest
city—and the 24th largest in the
United States—Boston is steeped
in history and tradition. Home to
the world’s most famous tea party
and America’s most well-known
patriots (Paul Revere and Tom
Brady), Beantown has spawned
both political dynasties and
sports empires, with the city’s
four major teams boasting 36
championships between them.
More than 18 million visitors
invade Boston each year, taking
in such iconic sites as Boston
Common, Beacon Hill, Fenway
Park, and Faneuil Hall
Marketplace, the seventh most
popular tourist destination in
the United States. The Boston
Marathon, the country’s oldest
26.2 mile race, is also a big draw,
attracting more than 30,000
runners and 500,000 spectators
each year.
What besides a taste for clam
chowder and a wicked cool
accent do Bostonians share?
The insider’s knowledge of DC,
gained while studying at AU.
So Cheers to our 1,875 Boston
transplants, a few of whom are
profiled here.
MATTHEW BELKIN, KOGOD/BSBA ’03
VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, LIVE NATION
For those who love to rock, Matthew
Belkin salutes you.
Live Nation is the largest live
entertainment company in the world, and
Belkin has worked for it since he was an
undergraduate at AU.
“If you think of the NFL or the NBA,
I would equate us almost to a league
of music,” he says. The company is
headquartered in Beverly Hills, but Belkin
has lived and worked in Boston for six
years. Local music lovers know Live
Nation operates the area’s House of
Blues, Xfinity Center, and Blue Hills Bank
Pavilion venues.
As Live Nation’s vice president of
business development, he’s charged with
creating new sellable assets across the
company’s amphitheatres, clubs and
theatres, and festivals, which include
Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Belkin’s
favorite, the Electronic Daisy Carnival, a
three-day event that brings the world’s
top deejays to Las Vegas.
When he came to AU from the Chicago
suburbs, Belkin thought he wanted to be
a lawyer. But after landing an internship
with what is now Live Nation, he never
left. He worked in Washington and New
York before moving to the Boston area,
which is where his wife, Lynn, is from.
(They met during a high school trip to AU,
although she wound up going to, ahem,
George Washington.) They now live in
nearby Brookline.
“I grew up landlocked,” he says. “Lake
Michigan is great, but the whole idea
that you can drive an hour and be on a
beautiful beach and feel like you’re on
vacation is kind of cool.”
As is working for a company that
entertains millions of music fans around
the world.
“I love the spectacle and energy of live
events and seeing how it excites people.”
THE GREAT ART-DOORS
While the city is known for its iconic statues, Ashley Bleimes, SOC–CAS/BA ’07, PR
manager at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, says the Rose Kennedy Greenway
“is doing great things with contemporary public art.” This summer, Ai Weiwei’s
Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads joins such large-scale installations as Lawrence
Weiner’s 70’x76’ textural mural, which greets visitors to South Station.
SOMETHING FISHY
Bostonians love their clam chowder, fish and chips, and clams (steamed
or fried). All of that and more is on the menu at the fifth annual Boston
Seafood Festival, August 7, at the historic Boston Fish Pier. Events include
lobster and clam bakes, fish cutting and oyster shucking contests, food
demonstrations, and a blessing of the fleet.
42 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

where we are
Alyssa Cohen, CAS/BA ’13
OWNER, DOTTIE’S DELIGHTS
PHOTOS BY JESSICA SCRANTON
As a child, Alyssa Cohen treasured visits to her
grandparents’ Newton, Massachusetts, bakery. It
wasn’t until years later that she learned that
Dorothy and Harvey Cohen doubled the chocolate
and vanilla icing on their granddaughter’s favorite
treat—the delectable black and white cookie.
“I grew up thinking that desserts should
be overwhelmingly luxurious. Sweets aren’t just
about taste—they’re about love, memories, and
an experience.”
An experience (of the Willy Wonka variety) is
exactly what Cohen strives to give visitors to her
North Andover sweets shop, Dottie’s Delights.
Named for her beloved grandmother, the store—
nestled about 30 miles north of Boston—features
more than 1,000 sugary treats from around the
globe, from artisan marshmallows (toasted on the
spot) to gourmet cotton candy to Japanese konpeito
sugar candy.
Sourcing the latest “it” treat, whether an organic
dark chocolate quinoa bar or white chocolate mango
licorice, is among Cohen’s favorite duties as owner
and head baker. “We’re seeing a surge in artisan
goods, and I love the stories behind the products. As
a small business owner myself, it’s important for me
to support other entrepreneurs.”
Cohen also serves up her own line of small-batch
caramels (vanilla chai, sea salt, maple, pumpkin
spice, and other scrumptious varieties) and fudge,
made from grandma Dottie’s famous recipe.
“Making her recipes was a way to connect with
her,” Cohen says of her late grandmother. “You
never left her house hungry or without a hug. She
wasn’t part of the family—she was the family.”
BOSTON BY FOOT
“Boston is magical in the summertime,” says Melissa Abrahams, Kogod/BSBA ’06, a
realtor with RE/MAX Leading Edge. After a long, hard winter, Abrahams likes to soak
up the sun by hiking the Middlesex Fells Reservation and biking the Minuteman trail
(stopping for ice cream at Bedford Farms). She also enjoys exploring new neighborhoods
on foot. “Although it’s a major city, it’s not a large one. Boston’s like a big town.”
TRAVERSING HISTORY
No trip to Beantown is complete without a stroll down the two-and-a-half-mile
Freedom Trail. Allot about three hours to take in all 16 sites, including the USS
Constitution, Paul Revere House, and the Old North Church, where the famous
“one if by land, two if by sea” signal was sent. And be sure to stop for a “be-ah” at
the country’s oldest bar, the Bell in Hand Tavern, which poured its first brew in 1795.
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 43

class notes
Opening my recent American
a few days ago and leafing
through it, I found the
article on Ed Walker.
Ed and Willard Scott
and I were at AU together
in the early ’50s. I watched
that friendship grow and
mature into professional
radio personalities. While
one heard and saw Willard
on TV, I often wondered
where Ed was and whether
he was still on radio—a
medium I always felt was
his. My wonder was
prompted by the fact that
I had moved away from
the District and was out
of contact with its radio.
From time to time
while we were classmates,
I would read various
reference materials to Ed
to supplement his notes
and studies in Braille. It
was something I thoroughly
enjoyed. I can only hope he
did too.
Linda Mancillas, SPA/MA ’09,
SPA/PhD ’10, and Peter Brusoe,
SPA/PhD ’12, published “Born
Digital: Integrating Media
Technology in the Political
Science Classroom” in the
Journal of Political Science.
Now living in Denver, I
was startled to see the
statistics on pages 44 and
45 on the number of alumni
living “where in the world.”
There are 1,530 alumni living
in Colorado, alone! I don’t
think I know a single one,
having only lived here a
little over two years. That
may change shortly, as I am
hoping to become active in
the alumni association here.
My regards for an
increasingly interesting and
varied magazine.
Carolyn Wicker, SIS/BA ’54
Denver, Colorado
Please accept my
compliments on the March
2016 issue of American
magazine. Between my
wife, myself, and my two
kids, we are graduates of
eight colleges and I am
proud to say that AU has
the most interesting alumni
magazine. Kudos to you and
your staff.
I want to register my
strong objection, however,
to the “3 Minutes On . . . the
Second Amendment” article
from the March issue.
Although it was presented
under the guise of a
balanced examination of the
Second Amendment, Jamie
Raskin’s personal viewpoint
2010s
came through loud and
clear. From his outrageous
suggestion that the Second
Amendment should be
interpreted as allowing
only members of the
National Guard to keep and
bear arms (in fact members
of the National Guard are
not allowed to take their
assigned military weapons
home), to his dog whistle
reference to the NRA in
his characterization of the
Supreme Court’s Heller
decision as “the most
pro-NRA interpretation of
the Second Amendment”
(rather than “the most
pro-individual right
interpretation of the
Second Amendment”),
it is clear without even
knowing the author’s
voting record on Second
Amendment issues where
he stands on the issue.
As a constitutional law
professor, the author
must be well aware that
the Second Amendment is
part of the Bill of Rights,
and that the Bill of Rights
was passed to protect
individual liberties from
government infringement.
Like other controversial
issues such as abortion
rights, I doubt there are
any alumni who are not
already well aware of and
divided over the Second
Amendment issue. Please
focus “3 Minutes On”
articles in future issues
on topics that we are not
already well aware of.
Halvor Adams, WCL/JD ’85
Garden City, New York
Lauren Linhard, SOC/BA ’11,
and Rebecca Wall, SOC/BA ’11,
launched an online magazine
called Moxie Mag, a nonjudgmental
space for women to use their
inner strength and take realworld
issues head-on.
Megan Patterson, SIS/BA ’11,
SOC/MA ’15, and Dan Alt,
SOC/BA ’12, were married on
October 31, 2015 in Willow Grove,
Pennsylvania. Nearly 30 AU
Eagles were in attendance.
Jaim Coddington, SIS/BA ’12,
has accepted a commission as a
second lieutenant in the United
States Marine Corps.
Katie O’Hare, SOC/BA ’12, and
Joey Catania, SPA/BA ’12, were
surrounded by dozens of their
life-long AU friends in Salisbury,
Connecticut, to celebrate their
wedding on September 6, 2015.
Joey’s mother, Rev. Diane Monti-
Catania, SPA/BA ’79, officiated
the service at their family’s New
England countryside home.
Michael Worley, SPA/BA ’12,
founder of the political marketing
firm MDWCOMM won the 2016
Campaigns and Elections
Magazine Reed Award for Best
-2011-
TIME
CAPSULES
TOP TUNE
“Rolling in the Deep,” Adele
TOP GROSSING FLICK
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
IN THE NEWS
Prince William marries Kate Middleton at
Westminster Abbey; New York legalizes
same-sex marriage; former Penn State
defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, is
arrested on 40 counts of sexual abuse
AT THE HELM
Nate Bronstein was 2010–2011 Student
Government president. Today, he’s CEO of
SmartTrack in Philadelphia.
Overall Direct Mail Piece.
MDWCOMM was also named a
winner at the 2016 Pollie Awards
hosted by the American Association
of Political Consultants.
Laura Yochelson, CAS/BS ’12, has
published two books, Sick: In the
Name of Being Well, I Made Myself
Sick and The Hole Clicks: Hearing
His Unfeeling Heart.
Katherine Brennan, SOC/BA ’13,
was profiled by the University of
Miami School of Law’s magazine,
in an article titled “An Old Soul
with a Twitter Handle.”
Stephen Lumpkins, Kogod/
BSBA ’13, is an account executive
at Indeed.com in San Francisco.
He was an All-Patriot League
basketball player and member of
the Eagles 2009 NCAA tournament
team. He played professional
basketball in the Netherlands,
Finland, and Austria before
accepting the Indeed job.
Andrew Payson, CAS/BA ’13,
composed the score to Throuple,
which premiered at the Hawaii
International Film Festival
November 15, 2015.
Zach Cohen, SIS/BA ’14, was
promoted to governor’s reporter
at National Journal Hotline after a
year and a half as its digital editor.
Laura Krauth, SPA/MPA ’14,
was named major gifts officer
for the Immokalee Foundation.
She is responsible for identifying
new donors and maintaining
relationships with philanthropists
who support the educational
programs that benefit Immokalee
students.
IN MEMORIAM
Martha Smoot Chidsey, CAS/MA ’77,
December 3, 2015, Salt Lake City, Utah
44 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

memories
LET’S
TALK TASSELS.
Share your
commencement stories:
magazine@
american.edu
1931
Scores of Eagles can trace their love stories to AU,
but George Sixbey ’30 and Helen Hope ’31 were the
first AU lovebirds to marry upon completion of their
undergraduate degrees. The couple wed in the Women’s
Residence Hall on the eve of commencement. The
Sixbeys, who settled in the Maryland suburbs, were
married for 47 years before George died in 1978.
1943
Two years after the United States’ entry into World
War II, a squad of seven would-be graduates—Ozzy,
Phil, Herby, Darb, Tex, Burke, and Tommy—spent
commencement in the service of Uncle Sam. According
to the Eagle, the Army was going to make welders out
of three of them, while “lucky Herby was chosen for a
specialized course in war administration . . . in Fresno,
California, where it is as hot as Hades.”
1963
President John F. Kennedy delivered one of the finest
orations of his short term, “A Strategy of Peace,” during
AU’s 49th commencement, June 10. For 27 minutes,
Kennedy spoke eloquently of peace—“not merely peace
in our time but peace for all time”—and called for a
nuclear test ban treaty. A plaque marks the spot on
Reeves Field where Kennedy delivered his speech before
991 AU grads.
1969
For the first time, AU held separate ceremonies for all
seven of its schools (including the defunct Lucy Webb
Hayes School of Nursing and the College of Continuing
Education). The aim, said AU president George Williams,
was to “concentrate on a more personal ceremony in
which the graduate is most important.” Elizabeth Duncan
Koontz—the first African American female to lead the
Women’s Bureau of the US Department of Labor—spoke
at the all-university convocation, which kicked off the
weekend festivities.
1979
The debut of the now-beloved bagpipes at commencement
came as a complete surprise to grads. The plaid-clad
pipers replaced the seemingly endless loop of “Pomp
and Circumstance,” which was deemed “too reminiscent
of high school graduation.” The Scottish tradition is
now one of AU’s most cherished; bagpipers lead
freshmen into the convocation ceremony every August,
bookending the AU student experience.
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 45

AU is deep in the planning stages for an
ambitious construction project: the new
life sciences building. The complex will
give our 500 faculty and students the
technology, tools, space, and flexibility
to tackle the most pressing challenges
facing our city, country, and planet.
The building will foster interdisciplinary
collaboration and enable faculty to
undertake the groundbreaking research
that our current facilities can’t always
support. An excellent university must
have strong science programs. We
do—and with your support, we can
give our faculty and students the space
to generate new ideas, methods,
and discoveries.
Colin Saldanha wants to find ways to
regenerate the human brain. Our brains
heal extremely slowly after sustaining
significant injury; bird brains actually have
an easier time repairing themselves following
a traumatic event.
“Once something dies in the human brain
it’s extraordinarily difficult for it to come
back, which is one reason why it’s so difficult
to recover from a stroke if a certain amount
of damage has been done, and perhaps why
degenerative brain disease is degenerative. We
just don’t regrow our brains that well,” says
Saldanha, chair of AU’s biology department.
“The animals I study have no problem doing
so. Understanding how they do would be
helpful toward developing therapies that help
us to regenerate our brains.”
Saldanha is one of several world-class
science faculty members recruited by the
university to help build AU’s interdisciplinary
neuroscience program. This undertaking
is part of the AU 2030 initiative, a strategic
planning effort that identifies groundbreaking
areas for which AU can be nationally and
internationally recognized. It highlights
behavioral and cognitive neuroscience as one
of those areas.
Saldanha’s research focuses on how
estrogens are delivered to specific targets
in the brain, and how they help regulate
plastic processes such as memory. It has
implications for Alzheimer’s disease (from
which 5.4 million Americans suffer) and
other neurodegenerative diseases that
involve learning.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER HOEY
46 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016

giving
AU has already invested in the sciences in
the form of the new Don Myers Technology
and Innovation Building, which will house the
computer science, physics, and mathematics
and statistics departments; the AU Game
Lab; and the Kogod School of Business
Entrepreneurship Incubator. The university
is deep in the planning stages for a new life
sciences building that would boast faculty
labs, offices, and classrooms, and enable AU
scientists to conduct experiments they can’t
currently undertake.
“The building is designed by faculty to be
optimal for collaborations and flexibility,” says
U. J. Sofia, the College of Arts and Sciences’
associate dean of research. “The new building
will have lab suites where multiple faculty are
in the same room working at lab benches that
are adjacent to each other. This leads to crosspollination
of ideas among faculty and students.
We expect the students working in these labs
to also benefit greatly from interactions with
faculty other than their own research mentor,
and with students from other research groups.”
The project is vital not just for the future
of AU, but for the good of the entire planet.
“Our global problems are not going to be
solved by one individual field; they demand
interdisciplinary approaches,” Saldanha says.
“The problems that we’re going to be dealing
with as a people for the next 200 years are
scientific. Climate change is less a lawyer’s
domain. Antibiotic resistance is not strictly a
business school question. We need to prepare
our students to understand the science
behind the policies that we are going to have
to put into place.”
FOR INFORMATION on how you can support
big ideas happening in the sciences at AU, contact
Elizabeth Harless, assistant dean of development,
at 202-885-5907 or harless@american.edu.
Nicole Bonan’s interest
in highly metastatic
squamous cell carcinoma
(SCC)—a type of skin
cancer that affects a disproportionately large number
of organ transplant patients—isn’t just academic.
It’s personal.
Bonan’s mother, Pat, was diagnosed with a rare
form of SCC in 2008. (Bonan’s father is also a cancer
survivor.) By the time she was in eighth grade, the
Potomac, Maryland, resident knew she wanted to “help
people with cancer beat the disease more quickly and
less painfully.”
“The problem we’re
working on is very
complex and you
can attack it in
lots of ways. It
involves research,
creative thinking,
and lots of logical
next steps.”
—Nicole Bonan, CAS/BS ’16
“Whether I can actually help to find a cure or
just find what doesn’t work, I hope my results will
help to advance the field of cancer research,”
Bonan, CAS/BS ’16, says.
In 2014 Bonan was awarded the Gloria A. Likins
Scholarship, established in 2008 by the estate of Likins,
CAS/BA ’60, to support undergrads—preferably women—
majoring in biology or chemistry. For the last two years,
Bonan worked alongside her mentor and confidante,
Professor Katie DeCicco-Skinner, studying drugs that
inhibit c-Met, a receptor that exists on the surface
of skin cells and is associated with cell proliferation
and invasion.
“The problem we’re working on is very complex
and you can attack it in lots of ways,” Bonan says. “It
involves research, creative thinking, and lots of logical
next steps.”
Bonan graduated in May with a degree in biochemistry—
but she’s not done with AU just yet. She’s pursuing a
master’s in biology and will be spending her summer in
DeCicco-Skinner’s lab.
When you’re working on serious real-world problems,
there’s no time for vacation.
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 47

must haves
1
9
10
8
11
2
4
7
12
3
5
6
*SIS/BA ’05, SIS/MA ’07, urban conservation director, Maryland/DC chapter, the Nature Conservancy
1. Plastic and Styrofoam are terrible
for the environment, so I carry a
small, reusable shopping bag and a
Tupperware container for leftovers.
If everyone made that small, easy
change, we could reduce our footprint.
2. I spent more than five years doing
environmental work in the Florida
Everglades. Sunglasses were a must.
3. I like to listen to music or an
audiobook on the Metro. Right now I’m
listening to The Marshmallow Test by
Walter Mischel.
4. American and Jamaican flags
honor my mixed racial and cultural
background.
5. I grew up in Kenya; going on safaris
as a child shaped my perspective
and inspired me to work on
environmental issues.
6. I keep a photo of my parents, sister,
brother-in-law, and niece. My family’s
black, white, and Asian—it’s a beautiful
picture of what America looks like.
It also reminds me of the sacrifices
made by others to help me get to this
point in my career.
7. I always carry breath mints and
deodorant—just in case.
8. I use my laptop to write reports and
emails, but I like to take notes by hand,
because I retain the information better.
9. I grew up playing soccer. So many
people around the world play the
game; it’s a great way to relate and
connect with people.
10. A cell phone charger is essential in
case my battery dies when I’m running
between meetings.
11. I split my time between the field
and the office, coordinating
strategy with partners and creating
presentations about everything from
the nexus between human health and
preserving nature to the economic
benefits of expanding the tree canopy
in urban areas.
12. Strength to Love by Martin Luther King
Jr. has been instrumental in guiding
me on this path, and The Art of War by
Sun Tzu reminds me that we always
need to have a strategy for any
endeavor we have in life.
48 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016
Photographed at Kingman Island, DC

THIS YEAR WE WILL CELEBRATE CLASSES OF 1966, 2006, AND 2011
AND THE ANNUAL MULTICULTURAL ALUMNI REUNION.
Enjoy a weekend of
fun with friends, old and new.
#AllAUWeekend

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American University, please visit
american.edu/academics.
Standard IPAs don’t
usually contain orange
peel or coriander, but
Braven uses them
to add a fruity zest
and peppery spice to
round out the drinking
experience.
Grains
Inspired by a classic
Belgian wit grain bill
(recipe), the White IPA
blends pilsner malt,
flaked wheat, and white
wheat to create a soft,
mildly sweet base
character.
Water
Beer is more than 90 percent water,
and Braven gets its from Saratoga
Springs, New York, which is known
for the purity of its H 2 O.
Hops
The Columbus,
Cascade, and Citra
hops the brewer uses
are grown on familyowned
farms in Oregon
and Washington state.
The Columbus provides
an earthy and gentle
bitterness, the Cascade
a floral and citrusy
flavor, and the Citra a
grapefruit aroma.
From Benjamin Franklin to Homer Simpson, Americans have
always loved their beer. The Brewers Association, a national
trade group, reported in September that the number of
breweries in the country had surpassed 4,000, approaching
a historical high. Brooklyn’s Braven Brewing Company is one
of the newcomers. Founded in 2013 by Marshall Thompson,
CAS/BA ’03, and Eric Feldman, the company makes ales
and pilsners that are distributed across New York City and
its suburbs.
Braven’s roots can be traced back to Feldman’s kitchen,
where the friends started with a $200 homebrew kit that
produced a “pretty decent” nut brown ale. “Over the next
three years we just kept doing it and getting better and
better,” Thompson says. In 2013 they used $23,000 from a
Kickstarter campaign to start the company. Their beer is
brewed (using their recipes) at the Old Saratoga Brewery and is
distributed to about 1,200 bars, restaurants, and retail outlets.
Their ultimate goal is to open their own brewery in
Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, once an epicenter of beer
making. “At one point Brooklyn was making 10 percent of the
country’s beer, but that history has been kind of forgotten,”
Thompson says. “Our goal is to be the first brewery in
Bushwick in over 40 years, and to bring back the brewing
tradition that made Bushwick famous.”
We’ll raise our mug to that.
Sip on this: Correctly answer the trivia question
below and enter to win some Braven Brewery
swag. Email answer to magazine@american.edu
or tweet us at @AU_AmericanMag by August 31.
Which state has the most breweries per capita, with 1.6 for
every 100,000 people over the age of 21?
A) Massachusetts
B) Wisconsin
C) California
D) Texas