2000s
Mary K. Grant, Heller PhD’00, in July became the 13th president of Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Previously, she served as senior administrative fellow for civics and social justice at Bridgewater State University; president/CEO at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate; and chancellor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Laiona (Weaver) Michelle, GSAS MFA’00, wrote and starred in “Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical,” which played at Goodspeed Opera House, in East Haddam, Connecticut, last summer. Anya Rader Wallack, Heller MA’01, PhD’07, is senior vice president for strategic communications at the University of Vermont Health Network. She is also associate director and professor of the practice at Brown University School of Public Health’s Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health. Philip Chassler, GSAS PhD’02, retired in the fall after more than 20 years of teaching in the American studies department at UMass Boston. David Keepnews, Heller PhD’02, is executive director of the Washington State Nurses Association, a professional association and union in Seattle. Aarathi Shenoy, IBS MA’02, moved to London, Ontario, in 2016, following 15 years of teaching at the Alliance Française de Madras. She is completing a bachelor’s in education (with secondary French and economics as teaching subjects) at the University of Western Ontario. Aarathi is married to Ashok Murugesan. Kweku Halm, Rabb MSE’03, is a patent examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Frances Colon, GSAS PhD’04, is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology in the Biden administration. Formerly, she was assistant science adviser to the secretary of state in the Obama administration. Izzy Einsidler, GSAS MFA’05, has been the lighting director for “CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell” for two years. He’s also worked on lighting designs/direction for “Face the Nation”; “60 Minutes”; and presidential, Supreme Court and political TV specials. Emmy Wassajja, Heller MA’06, earned a PhD in agricultural and institutional economics from the University of Hohenheim in 2016 and is now a visiting lecturer at Gulu University, in northern Uganda. Jason M.H. Gaines, GSAS MA’07, PhD’13, professor of practice in Tulane University’s Department of Jewish Studies, was recognized in the 2021 40 Under 40 list compiled by Gambit, an alternative weekly newspaper based in New Orleans. Jason serves as co-chair of Jewish Pride New Orleans and is a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. Hajime Takizawa, Heller MA’07, is a policy researcher in climate and energy at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.