GS Class of 2009

Amy Mendillo ’09 MPP published I’ve Just Seen a Face: A Practical and Emotional Guide for Parents of Children Born with Cleft Lip and Palate with Luminare Press on May 15. The book contains essential medical information, emotional insights, insiders’ tips, and personal stories that will help parents feel supported during a challenging time. Learn more at amymendillo.com. 

Martín Guzmán, Minister of Economy for Argentina, has been chosen by Pope Francis to join the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. His appointment is for 10 years. The academy is dedicated to “promoting the study and progress of social, economic, political, and legal sciences in the light of the social doctrine of the Church.” In addition to serving as Minister, Guzmán is a research assistant at Columbia University, where he directs the debt restructuring program and is a member of the Institute for New Economic Thinking’s Taskforce on Macroeconomic Efficiency and Stability. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Buenos Aires and at the National University of La Plata, both in Argentina, and directs the Journal of Globalization and Development.

Jennifer Pallay Bassan ’09 ScM (see ’08)

Katherine Burgess ’09 ScM, ’12 PhD, has been awarded the Heinrich Award from the Microanalysis Society for her distinguished technical contributions to the field of microanalysis. A geologist with the U.S. Naval Research Lab, she is currently the lead investigator for a NASA Apollo next-generation sample analysis program.

Jennifer Pallay Bassan ’09 ScM, and her husband, Matthew, announce the June 25 birth of their second son, Caleb Heath Bassan. Jennifer writes: “Big brother Elliott is loving his new role.”

Anna Watkins Fisher ’09 AM, ’12 PhD, an assistant professor of American culture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and coeditor of the second edition of New Media, Old Media: A History and Theory Reader, published The Play in the System: The Art of Parasitical Resistance. Acknowledging the difficulty for artists in the twenty-first century to effectively critique systems of power, she theorizes parasitism—a form of resistance in which artists comply with dominant structures as a tool for practicing resistance from within. 

Christine Baumgarthuber ’09 AM, ’12 PhD wrote Fermented Foods: The History and Science of a Microbiological Wonder, which will be coming out March 15, 2021, from Reaktion Books.

Ramadan Hussein ’04 AM, ’09 PhD, now at the University of TÜbingen in Germany, stars in the National Geographic four-part series Kingdom of the Mummies. Contact Ramadan at [email protected].

Kaitlin Moran ’09 MAT launched Juntos Boston to support undocumented, unaccompanied youth in the greater Boston area. Visit juntosboston.org.

Jennifer Pallay Bassan ’09 ScM and her husband, Matthew, announce the Feb. 4 birth of their son, Elliott Reese Bassan.

Kathleen Lavery and Lucas Renick were married on Aug. 18 in Greenwich, Conn. The bride and groom met during their senior year. The wedding party included matron of honor Wesley Royce, Lauren Falkoff Eggert, Jacquelyn Rudis MacDonald, Jamil McClintock, and Emily Anderson Press. The bride’s brother, Michael Lavery ’02, did a reading at the ceremony. The wedding brought together many friends, including David and Kathryn Bannon Hearington, Deshaun Mars ’09 AM, Jasmine Plummer, Ari Press, and Paul Raymond. Kathleen writes: “It was a joyful celebration filled with love, laughter, and dancing to many Fish Co classics, until we sailed away into the night.”