James Allman-Gulino (MPP ’09) is serving in the State Department's Foreign Service in Johannesburg, South Africa. James invites anyone traveling through the area to visit.
Katie Meyer (MPP ’09 and husband Jason Simeon welcomed a healthy baby boy, Merlin Meyer Simeon, on June 16, 2017.
Molly O'Rourke McCarthy (MPP ’09) and husband Alex recently moved from Washington, D.C. to New York City. After nearly nine years on Capitol Hill, Molly is now working at the NYC Economic Development Corporation as a department Chief of Staff.
Mimi Wu (MPP ’09) opened Myanmar Recycles with partner Henry in October 2017. Myanmar Recycles is the first industrial-scale plastic film recycling factory in Myanmar, where Mimi and Henry have lived for the past five years.
Brenan Richards (MPP ’09) is serving as the National Security Council’s Director for Southeast Asia at the White House. A detailee from the Department of Defense, she most recently served as a Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy at U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii advising senior military and civilian leadership on operational and contingency planning in Asia.
Christina Conell (MPP ’10) moved from San Francisco to D.C. in June 2016 and has enjoyed connecting with D.C.’s Batten community. Christina currently serves as the Senior Technical Advisor in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Community Food Systems, supporting school districts in buying local food.
Caitlin Feller (MPP ’10) and husband Mike welcomed daughter Ayla MacLean Feller in November 2017.
Hannah Green (MPP ’10) currently works for PhRMA, a trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry, and leads advocacy and strategic alliance efforts in seven states.
Caitlin (Ham) Khalsa (MPP ’10) married fellow UVA alum Siri Sahib Khalsa in November 2016 in Kauai, Hawaii. Caitlin also started a new position as Special Assistant to the Dean at the Ford School of Public Policy at University of Michigan in February 2018.
Dana (Ganpath) Laurens (MPP ’10) has returned to the D.C.-area for a policy and advocacy role with Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) and Education Reform Now (ERN), where she works on education policy at the federal level. According to Dana, the agency regularly recruits interns and she welcomes contact from interested graduates.
Cristina Martinez de Andino (MPP ’10) and husband Adam White welcomed son Aaron Duval White on December 29, 2016. Aaron is now a year old and, according to Cristina, loves dancing, eating all carbs, and hugging his stuffed animals.
Danielle Campbell (MPP ’11) began work on the Resource Develop-ment team at Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta in December 2014. In fall 2017, Danielle started work on a Master of Divinity degree at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Molly Cole (MPP ’11) and husband Enser returned from a year-long trip around the world and are settling back into life and work in D.C. Molly is working as a legislative assistant for Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), covering foreign affairs issues.
Susan (Sainz) Bond (MPP ’12) and husband Doug Bond welcomed their son, Robbie, on February 23, 2017. They currently reside in Boston.
Lillian Frost (MPP ’12) is completing a semester-long visiting fellowship at Maastricht University's Centre for Citizenship, Migration, and Development in Maastricht, Netherlands. Lillian is writing her Ph.D. dissertation following a year of fieldwork in Jordan and three years of coursework in George Washington University's political science doctoral program. Her research focuses on variations in the sets of rights and paths to citizenship that states offer to protracted refugees.
Breanna Gray (MPP ’12) is pursuing her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Breanna's areas of research interest include voter turnout and the incentives behind vote choice; the conditions preempting Congressional action; and the ways in which social affinities influence policy outcomes.
Sarah B. (Williamson) Kirwin (MPP ’12) married Kevin D. Kirwin, a computer engineer from Minneapolis, MN, in September 2017. They reside in Sterling, VA, with their golden retriever Apollo. Sarah also recently graduated from Duke Law School and now practices international trade law at the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Drew Pyrak (MPP ’12) founded Rhyming Regards LLC, a limerick greeting card company, in November 2017. Visit Rhyming Regards at rhymingregards.com.
Alex Boucher (MPP ’13) and Melissa Rickman (MPP ’13) were married on December 2, 2017, in Williamsburg, VA
Tara Clark (MPP ’13) married Pete Johnson on October 7, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Henry Furtick (MPP ’13) Married wife Katie in November 2013. Henry and Katie moved from Atlanta to Phoenix in December 2013, where Henry began work for the Joint Legislative Budget Committee/Arizona State Government.
Imran Khan (MPP ’13) and wife Kellie welcomed daughter Maryam Diana Khan in November 2015. Son Isa Khan started kindergarten in fall 2017.
Doc McConnell (MPP ’13) recently joined the Office of Management and Budget as a Cybersecurity Policy Analyst. He is excited to rejoin the federal workforce in a career position, and to work on government-wide cybersecurity challenges. Doc will be working out of the New Executive Office Building on 17th street in D.C. and would love to connect with alumni in the area. Contact Doc at docmcconl@gmail.com.
Robert Pickmans (MPP ’13) is completing his second year in the Agriculture and Resource Economics Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley.
Evan Vahouny (MPP ’13) recently bought a house in Falls Church, VA, with his fiancé.
Taylor Brown (MPP ’14) started a new job as a project manager for The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law on January 26, 2018. Taylor married Roberto Ferreira de Araujo on April 21, 2017.
Elena Weissmann (MPP ’14) is serving as Director of The Bronx Freedom Fund, a community bail fund in New York City, which is currently being brought to national scale through The Bail Project. Elena reports the organization is seeing major headway in the fight for bail reform.
Griffin Horter (COL ’15) moved to Philadelphia to start a new role as an associate with Inverness Graham Investments, a private equity firm focused on investing in founder-owned manufacturing and software businesses.
Sonia Wang (COL ’15) is a co-owner of Key-Log Economics, a Charlottesville-based environmental economic consulting company. The company's founder is former Batten School lecturer Spencer Phillips.
Hayley Anderson (MPP ’17) recently relocated to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to complete a Fulbright English Teaching Award. Hayley welcomes communication with any fellow Batten alums and 'Hoos in Brazil.
Christine Jacobs (MPP ’17) is the Executive Director of the Thomas Jefferson Community Land Trust, a Charlottesville-based nonprofit whose mission is to create and preserve a permanent supply of affordable housing in the Charlottesville area. Christine will also serve as the Housing Coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.