Brandeis Magazine

Elisabeth Ioannides is education curator and art psychotherapist at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens. Her research focuses on museum learning, art psychotherapy, health and well-being, and cultural inclusion. In 2025, she gave presentations on museum-based art psychotherapy in London; Moscow; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Larkin Tackett reports he will become a bar mitzvah — and his daughter, Naomi, a bat mitzvah — at Temple Beth Shalom in Austin, Texas, where he is congregation president and Eleanor Steinman ’01 is senior rabbi.

Jane Kohuth has written a children’s book, “The Dark Is For” — illustrated by Caldecott awardee Cindy Derby — which will be published by Simon and Schuster in March 2026. Jane’s sixth children’s book, “Something on the Hill,” was published by Anne Schwartz Books in 2024.

John Langton, GSAS PhD’08, has co-founded a company called Dermatic Health, which leverages AI to help primary-care providers treat more dermatology conditions and prioritize high-acuity cases for dermatologists. He writes, “I went full time as the chief technology officer after raising a round of funding. We’re still in stealth, working with five health systems. More will be public over the next year.”

Massachusetts state senator Becca Rausch chairs the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government in the state legislature. She is also co-chair of the permanent commission on the recruitment, hiring and retention of municipal police officers and firefighters, and vice chair of the Senate committee on the census.

After 23 years of working as a Spanish teacher and AP mentor in Pennsylvania’s Lower Moreland Township School District, Jamie Lincow is now staff developer for the Council Rock School District, where she addresses its professional-development needs.

Jordan Barkin is a columnist published by USA Today, The Jerusalem Post and Hearst. He lives in southwest Florida with his fiancé, Ivan Bormey Jomolka, who is an actor and model.

Harris Eisenberg and wife Katherine Carey welcomed son Henry Raynold Eisenberg in 2024. Harris works in private investment and venture capital following the sale of his former employer, where he served as defense-technology sector president.

Beth Kander-Dauphin’s debut novel, “I Made It Out of Clay,” published in 2024 by MIRA, a HarperCollins imprint, received accolades from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Shelf Awareness.

Peter Kenlan is a partner at law firm Pierce Atwood in Portland, Maine.

Carrie Spaulding has launched a course called The Lab, which seeks to help people step into more boldness, confidence and authenticity in their lives and work. She writes, “One of the core tools we use is improv — a practice I deepened at Brandeis, performing with False Advertising at Chum’s. Curious Brandeisians can learn more at carriespaulding.com/lab.”

Michael Zoosman was among those given a 2025 Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights at a New York City gala in May. Michael was celebrated for his leadership in mobilizing Jewish communities against the death penalty.

Josh Centor received the 2024-25 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year Award. He is associate vice president for student affairs, and director of athletics, physical education and recreation at Carnegie Mellon University, where he led the athletics program to its first-ever team NCAA national championships. Josh and wife Jaye ’04 live in Pittsburgh with their children, Gabe (14), Lucas (10) and Layla (6).

Alex Green, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, is the author of “A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled” (Bellevue Literary Press, 2025), which was included in an “11 new paperbacks to read” listing in The Washington Post and received a starred review in Publishers Weekly.

Amber-Dawn Schiff is a stock market investor/trader. She lives in Long Beach, New York, with son Julian Schiff-Nivin.

Eliza Gregory — who lives in Phoenix with sons Miles (10) and Ellis (7) — owns Coll Consulting, which focuses on emergency management and public health preparedness for local, county, state and tribal governments; health care; higher education; and other areas. She is also president of the Arizona Emergency Managers Association. She reports she was thrilled (and envious) to learn about the new interdisciplinary engineering program at Brandeis.

Helene Lowenfels runs NY See Art Tours, creating bespoke New York City art tours for adults and children. She writes, “Mention Brandeis in your email (nyseearttours@gmail.com) for 10% off your first tour.” She lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter Olivia (8).

Lindsay Pfeffer is a named partner at Rabin Pfeffer and Partners, a boutique matrimonial- and family-law firm in Manhattan.

Rachel S. Schneider got engaged to Sam Stern at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on June 7, 2025, the anniversary of their first date. Rachel; Sam; and Rachel’s daughter, Lily, live in Riverdale, New York. Sam is a high school special-education science teacher in Westchester and the father of two teenage boys. Rachel leads employer branding at Realtor.com.

In summer 2025, Arnon Shorr received the Brandeis Alumni Association’s Emerging Leadership Award for his work in building and strengthening the alumni community in the entertainment industry.

Rebecca Goldberg is a partner at law firm Berchem Moses. She has been named to the Connecticut and New England Super Lawyers Rising Stars lists for employment and labor law from 2018-25.

Rabbi Yael Buechler designs meaningful accessories for Jewish holidays, including Hanukkah nail decals and matzo pajamas. The “Today” show recently featured her line of splatter-paint Hanukkah pajamas.

Joanna Girndt-Lazar and husband Blake Girndt welcomed their first child, daughter Clara, on May 2, 2025.

Brian Goodman is a managing director at Vida Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in biotech companies with a focus on oncology, immunology and neuroscience. Previously, he was a partner at MPM BioImpact.

Daniella Friedman and husband Mordechai Tasma celebrated the arrival of their second child, Moshe.

Sonja Gandert, who earned a PhD in art history at the CUNY Graduate Center, is an assistant professor in the University of Colorado Boulder’s art and art history department.

Steve Oran serves as counsel in law firm Riker Danzig’s real estate group. Previously, he was general counsel at the Silverman Group in New Jersey.

Justin Sulsky married Peter Myers at Temple Beth Torah in Melville, New York, on June 8, 2025. Andrew Brooks and Lauren Schneider ’08 served as ketubah witnesses. Justin and Peter live in Long Beach.

Sierra (Kagen) Zanghi is official court reporter to Superior Court Justice Miguel Duran in Everett, Washington. She is a founding member of the Jeopardizing Justice Coalition, which is fighting to regulate the use of AI in court systems.