GS Class of 1997

Washington Magazine released its list of Tech Titans 2022, the 225 most important and innovative leaders in Washington’s digital economy. Among the honorees were: David Cicilline ’83, chair of the antitrust subcommittee, U.S. House of Representatives; Catherine Marsh ’82, ’87 PhD, director, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity; Tobin Moore ’04, cofounder and CEO, Optoro; Stefanie Tompkins ’93 ScM, ’97 PhD director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and Adam Vitarello ’05, cofounder and president, Optoro.

In April 2022, Baobab Press released Souvenirs, a collaborative work of short fiction and prose poems by Andrew Colarusso ’13 MFA and Karen An-hwei Lee ’95 ’97 MFA. A collection of visions shared across cyberspace, Souvenirs celebrates fragments from the literary afterlife. In this collection of miniature fictions and contemporary fables, objects take on shapes of their own designs, creating a composite map to a world populated with little transparent souls and ghost ships in lost bottles; a menagerie of curios; photophores of bioluminescence humming in the depths; light begetting light, deep calling to deep. Colarusso and Lee seem to write from a single mind as they strike a balance between humor and philosophy; the acute and the everlasting. The ideas they discuss—religion, faith, universality, continuance—are large, but their prose is accessible, and at times outright hilarious.

Jide Aradeon ’97 ScM (see Darryl Heslop ’96).

Darryl Heslop and Jide Aradeon ’97 ScM are becoming green entrepreneurs with their foray into the rapidly emerging legal cannabis industry. Subject to a licensing award, the duo plans to open three adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries in New York City branded as “The Greenwood District.” Although residing on opposite coasts—Darryl as a practicing attorney in New York and Jide as a technical program manager in California—Darryl writes: “This was a special opportunity to collaborate with a lifelong friend in a newly regulated field brimming with pathways for positive social and economic impact. We look forward to being pioneers in this space and welcome the support of the Brown community.”

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.