Class of 2010

Michelle Ramadan writes to share that she started Meesh Pottery, a small artisan pottery business. She also teaches pottery classes to adults at a local community art center in Massachusetts. Michelle writes: “So if you live around Boston and want to get muddy look me up!” 

Harry Kashdan’s book, Resilient Kitchens: American Immigrant Cooking in a Time of Crisis, was nominated for a James Beard Award in media for social justice and advocacy. The book is a collection of essays and recipes by American immigrants in the food industry—chefs, restaurateurs, food justice activists, scholars, and more, talking about their experiences during the Covid pandemic and the importance of food to their journeys and identities. Harry writes: “We’re so proud of the book and a bit overwhelmed by the nomination; the recognition really suggests that the importance of what we tried to do with this project is penetrating. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the concern for diversity and representation demonstrated in the book began, for me, with my Brown education.”

Neko Catanzaro was named first runner-up in the Saturday Evening Post’s 2024 Great American Fiction contest for her short story, “Old Growth.”

Taosha Way, a portfolio manager at Fidelity, published Techonomics You Should Know: Life-Changing Economics of Disruptive Technologies on Oct. 10. It is available on Amazon. As a seasoned tech investor and trained economist, Taosha breaks down the techonomic impacts on three essential fronts: jobs, income, and wealth. The book provides refreshing clarity on how to deal with the latest technologies from the perspective of real-life individuals. 

Lester Stone II independently published The Observations, Rare Occurrences and Interventions by Death in April 2023. The book is available on Amazon.

Kaileigh Callender was selected for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) 2023 Pathfinder program. The program trains high-performing, early-career attorneys on foundational leadership and relationship building skills. She is an associate in the firm’s litigation group, where she focuses her practice on employment litigation and business and commercial disputes. She also serves on the board of directors of Boston Youth Sanctuary.

Noble Macfarlane writes that he and his wife, Hannah Lennett ’11, have been enjoying their time living in Amsterdam, where they’ve been for more than a year.

Bruktaweit Addis and Tif Slama celebrated their marriage on May 16 at Awbury Arboretum in Philadelphia, two years after eloping during the early pandemic. They were joined by family and friends, including Tif’s brother-in-law, Bill Seeley ’93, bridesmaids Courtney Baskin, Jenna Harris, Nic Mooney, Michelle Morales, Brice Peterson, Nicole Taykhman, and friends Michael Danna, Kelly Devlin, Lakshmi Madhavan, Brian Mastroianni, Celina Pedrosa, Yaa Sarpong ’10, Felipe Umana, and Randi Siegel Weniger ’05. The couple’s one-year-old daughter, Beza Slama, was a special part of the celebration, serving as a flower girl alongside her cousins.

Kelly McWilliams released her YA novel Mirror Girls. Set in a rural haunted Georgia at the height of Jim Crow, it’s about biracial twin sisters separated at birth—one is obviously Black, while the other can pass as white. It’s a brilliant examination of identity, colorism, and familial ties like The Vanishing Half, yet it’s the rare gothic horror novel that seamlessly weaves historical fiction.

Lee Taglin writes: “I’m head of operations for Knock for Democracy (knockfordemocracy.org). By building a volunteer experience that is easy, accessible, community-driven, and legitimately fun, Knock for Democracy is transforming political volunteering from an every-four-year obligation into an engaging and empowering practice, all while upending results in tightly contested races. In 2020, Knock for Democracy volunteers completed nearly 12,000 phone banking shifts and made over 2.8 million calls to key voter constituencies in swing districts and battleground states, where 11 of our 19 target candidates won their races. We’re fundraising for the 2022 midterms and are seeking committed partners to join and support our mission. If you’re interested, I’d love to chat! I can be reached at lee@knockfordemocracy.org.”

Alejandra Rojas and Tristan Freeman were married on Nov. 20 in a small ceremony with immediate family. They met in 2014 at a volunteer alumni event in a women’s shelter in Brooklyn, N.Y. They still live in Brooklyn with their dog Russell.

Sara D’Apolito Dworkin and Harrison Avart were married on Sept. 4. They were married at Grounds for Sculpture (N.J.) surrounded by their family and friends and many fellow Brown alumni.

Ryan G.W. Grubbs was one of a group of Brunonians celebrating the wedding of Rachel Z. Arndt and Vincent Peiffer in Chicago on July 17. Other Brown grads in attendance were Hannah Garrett ’08, Ben Hyman ’11, Kate Taylor, and Maddie Wasser. The bride and groom descended from a fire pole at the Firehouse Chicago into an evening spent partying with friends and family. 

Dr. Sara D’Apolito-Dworkin and Harrison Avart are engaged to be married September 2021. Harrison and Sara met during freshman year orientation in their dorm, West Andrews Hall. They now live together in Philadelphia.

Kaileigh Callender, an associate in the Litigation Group at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, has been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. The list recognizes Black attorneys from each state who are rising stars in their respective areas of the law. Kaileigh handles disputes related to the firm’s employment, business, and retail clients. She is also deeply committed to pro bono work, handling projects for many of the firm’s pro bono clients, including Haley House, International Refugee Assistance Project, Kids in Need of Defense, and the Lawyers Clearing House. She serves on the board of directors of Boston Youth Sanctuary, which is an innovative after-school support program in Dorchester, Mass., for youth who have experienced trauma. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 2016, where she was a Martin Luther King Jr. Fellow.

At press time, these alums were appointed or awaiting appointment to the Biden administration: Jennifer Daskal ’94, deputy general counsel (cyber & technology), Department of Homeland Security; Elisabeth Donahue ’86, chief of staff, Council of Economic Advisers;  Marc Etkind ’87, associate administrator for communications, NASA; Ruby Goldberg ’17, special assistant, Office of Land and Emergency Management,  Environmental Protection Agency; Suzanne Goldberg ’85, deputy assistant secretary for strategic operation, U.S. Dept. of Education ; Roberta Jacobson ’82, coordinator, U.S. Southern Border, National Security Council; Jennifer Klein ’87, cochair, White House Gender Policy Council; Daniel Kohl ’87, director of government relations, AmeriCorps; Letise Houser LaFeir ’00, senior advisor, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce ; Emma Leheny ’92, principal deputy general council, U.S. Dept. of Education; Suzan Davidson LeVine ’93, interim political head, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Dept. of Labor; Sean Manning ’18, press assistant, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Commerce ; Ben Miller ’07, senior advisor to the chief of staff, U.S. Dept. of Education; Melanie Nakagawa ’02, senior director, climate and energy, National Security Council; Victoria Nuland ’83, undersecretary of state for political affairs, State Dept.; Daniel Parnes ’10, special assistant to the ASD for energy environment & installations, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Tanya Sehgal ’06, special advisor and senior counsel,  U.S. Dept. of Personnel Management; Stefanie Tompkins ’93 ScM, ’97 PhD, director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; Christina Tsafoulias ’04, supervisory congressional liaison specialist, Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, USAID; Janet Yellen ’67, Secretary of the Treasury; Todd Zabatkin ’10 MPP,  deputy director for research (White House Communications Dept.) ; and Maria Zuber ’83 ScM, ’86 PhD, cochair, President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Emilie Lygren has coauthored How to Teach Nature Journaling: Curiosity, Wonder, Attention. This is a teacher-friendly book that combines curriculum plans and practical advice so that educators can bring journaling to their students.

Brian Chin writes: “This year would have been my 10-year reunion. My college ’90s cover band, Firetruck, would have been performing for our class, but instead we are postponed. In the meantime, we are trying to sort out how we might do something virtually.”

Andrea B. Korb married Greg Hardes in Maine on August 25. In attendance were Miriam Altman, Clare Barkeley Berman, Doug Berman ’09, Steve Daniels ’09, Jadie DeTolla, Sophie Elgort, Cyprian Kibuka, Richard Korb ’73, Mariana Lee ’06, Jordan Middendorf, Alejandra Piers-Torres, Chloe Southern ’10, Meredith Woodhouse and Yeye Zhang. 

Nicole Taykhman married Scott Ferrara at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Oct. 21, 2018. Groomsman Justin Satriano ’10, ’15 ScM, and bridesmaids Bruktaweit Addis and Lakshmi Madhavan stood alongside them. They were thrilled to be joined by guests Katie Meyers Satriano ’10, Jeremy Feigenbaum, Elena Albright, Michael Sunshine ’11 ScM, Kelly Devlin, Danielle Dahan, Dara Goldberg, Cailey Bromer, Danielle Candelora, Katie O’Brien, Matthew Becker ’13, Evan Carmouche, Aaron Zick, Jeremy Noah, Jacob Kopf, Osmar Olivo, Wendy Castillo, Drew Marano, Celina Pedrosa, and Felipe Umana. Several of the guests lived with the bride throughout college and studied abroad with her in the Brown in France program in the Fall of 2009.

Vanessa Merker married John Swoboda on Sept. 16, 2018, at the Charles River Museum in Waltham, Mass. Maid of honor Emilie Aries ’09 and guests Rakesh Patel ’09, Christie Ciarlo ’09, and Micah Lapping-Carr ’09 lived with the bride on the second floor of Woolley during their freshman year. Also in attendance was Leiszle Ziemba Lapping-Carr ’09.

Annie Matusewicz ’11 and Max Montgelas celebrated their marriage in Warren, Conn. In attendance were Kiana Alzate ’10, Alexa Baggio ’09, Sam Baker ’11, Dominique Ferraro ’11, Moira Gallagher ’10, Justin Klee ’13, Andrea Bonilla Munoz ’10, Jennifer Randall ’11, Meaghan Caulfield Sandtorv ’10, Olga Usyk ’09, and Sheila Walsh ’01. Annie manages responsible investment products at Eaton Vance, while Max leads the engineering and product teams at a home renovation startup, Renoviso. 

Phil Kaye ’10 released his first full-length poetry collection from Button Poetry, Date & Time, on Sept. 18.

Joy Chua-Schwartz ’10 writes: “My husband, Corey Schwartz ’11, and I got married in Big Sur, California, in June, with a spectacular showing of Brown alums. Our wedding was officiated by Graham Rogers ’11, and among the wedding party were Cristina Botero ’10, Anne Francois-Poncet ’10, Jordana Fribourg ’10, and Thea Jacinto Ugarte (RISD ’10). Alumni in attendance included Alexis Anselin ’10, Sam Arnow ’13, Lena Gaviria ’12, George George ’10, Frannie Hannan ’10, Isabelle Lubin ’16, Max Lubin ’12, Melanie Masarin ’12, Cyrus Mojdehi ’13, Isabella Morton ’10, Isabel Lopez Polanco ’10, Marie Poyet ’10, Jillian Ressler ’10, Mohammad Saigol ’11, Danielle Sheridan ’10, Adriana Urruela ’10, and Sibel Yalman ’10. It was a spectacular day and we couldn’t be more grateful to Brown for being the place where we met.”

Brian Christian ’06 married Rose Linke on Aug. 26 in Piedmont, Calif. In attendance were Robin Averbeck ’06, Liat Berdugo ’08, Alex Collins-Shotwell ’06, Andrew Evans ’09, Joshua Finn ’07, Elizabeth Forsyth ’06, Leora Fridman ’07, Graff Haley ’06, Melissa Riess James ’06, Henry Kaplan ’06, Raphael Lee ’06, Blair Nelsen Prata ’06, Alicia Ridenour ’06, Felicity Rose ’06, Stefanie Simons ’06, and Shawn Wen ’10.

Timothy Danser writes: “I got engaged and will be getting married in September. Additionally, I graduated from the Wharton School of Business with my MBA. I started work at an artificial intelligence software security company called Respond Software. I moved back to the Bay Area and am living in Silicon Valley.”

Sumbul Siddiqui was elected to the city council in her hometown of Cambridge, Mass. Sumbul was one of nine candidates elected out of a pool of 26. She is a public interest attorney and was sworn in on Jan. 1.

Kimberly Dickinson ’14 MPH, ’14 MD, and Ross Beckman ’13 MD announce their Aug. 26 wedding at the Evergreen Museum and Library in Baltimore. Anabel Agloro, Rebecca Binder, Emily Eng, Heather Jones ’14 MD, Rachel Marano ’14 MD, Emma Reitman, and Leona Rosenblum were bridesmaids. Chris Mardy, Adam Margolius, Will Packer, Aaron Small, Brett Weinstock, and Ben Wolpaw were groomsmen. Other alumni in attendance included Neishay Ayub ’14 MD, Jeff Bayne, Ellen Loudermilk Cone ’10, Eugene Cone ’13 MD, Brad Cotter ’13 MD, Paul Cotter, Josh Drago, Julia Goldner ’11, Mark Hepokoski ’13, Shreyus Kulkarni ’14 MD, Ijeoma Njaka, Laura Mercurio Ouellette ’14 MD, James Simmons ’13 MD, Shannon Oppenheim Simmons ’09,’13 MD, Devin Smith ’13 MD, Pamela Escobar Smith ’13 MD, Ina Soh ’13 MD, Adam Vasconcellos ’07, ’11 MD, Mansi Vasconcellos ’10,’14 MD, and Lauren Vitkus. The couple works at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Kimberly is a pediatric pulmonary fellow and Ross is completing his residency in general surgery.

Nadine Pardee and Ted Lamm were married on Sept. 3 in Aptos, Calif. Alexandra Bachorik and Alexander Logan officiated. In attendance were Jed Bickman ’07, Andre Burnier, Sam Dickman, Colin Fitzpatrick ’09, Marc Gilbert, Scott Goldberg ’05, Stephen Hazeltine, Nick Herrmann ’09, Allison Kay ’15 MD, Eric Lamm ’75, Katie Lamm ’07, Michael Peterson, Alex Schwartz, Liling Soh, Emily Sorg, and Arianna Witkin.

Whitney Lewis and Corey Goerdt announce their Sept. 3 wedding in La Jolla, Calif. The ceremony was officiated by Michael Davis and was attended by nearly 50 members of the Brown community.

Maria Capecelatro, Tom Miner, and Reed McIntyre started Unwrapp’d, a Denver start-up working to disrupt the nutrition/protein bar market with a dough you can eat raw, bake, or add to smoothies. Check out life outside the wrapper at eatunwrapped.com. Use code BROWN for 10 percent off your order.