Class notes

1957

Karl A. Schellenberg, Med '57 (MD), has been retired for 25 years from Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he was a professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry.

1959

Clyde Flory Jr., Med '59 (MD), has practiced for 40 years, focusing on allergy and immunology. In July 2022, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology named him that month's national Practice Champion in recognition of his contributions to the subspecialty and patient care.

1961

Neil C. Raff, Med '61 (MD), is medical director of Integrated Quality Care Medical PC in Fresh Meadows, New York. He combines four decades of functional medicine practice with certification as a nutritional specialist to offer patients medical practices and natural and nutritional therapies.

1963

Edward R. Laws Jr., Med '63 (MD), is director of the Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital and professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in May and the Distinguished Achievement Award at the 18th International Pituitary Congress in June.

1977

Susan Eyrich Lederer, A&S '77 , is the Ronald L. Numbers Professor of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Her professorship was one of five bestowed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in honor of faculty who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge through their research, teaching, and service. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the federal advisory committee on human radiation experiments, and she is the program co-chair for the 27th International Congress of History of Science and Technology to be held in New Zealand in July 2025.

1978

Bruce Bochner, A&S '78 , is professor emeritus after serving for 10 years as the Samuel M. Feinberg Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He retired in February 2023. He was awarded the Paul Ehrlich Lectureship at the 2023 meeting of the International Eosinophil Society, the organization's highest honor awarded to an individual who has made "outstanding, prolific, high-quality, and broad research achievements that have substantially advanced knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms governing eosinophil in health and disease." He served as the chief of allergy and clinical immunology at Johns Hopkins from 2003 to 2013.

1979

Stuart Davidson, A&S '79 , a partner at Willig, Williams & Davidson, was recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, his 30th year of inclusion in the peer-review publication. The firm, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, specializes in union-side labor law, employment law, employment benefits, and workers' compensation.

1981

Mary Anne Mercer, BSPH '81 (MPH), '88 (DrPH), is an emeritus faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle. She was the first-prize winner in the travel category for the 2023 Indie Reader Discovery Awards and the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Beyond the Next Village: A Year of Magic and Medicine in Nepal, published in 2023 by She Writes Press.

1983

Nancy Allbritton, Med '83 (MD), is the Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. She also is co-founder and scientific adviser at Altis Biosystems, which "provides expertise and unique in vitro platforms to further research and increase understanding of human biology while reducing the need for animal testing." She and her husband, Christopher Sims, Med '84 (MD), co-founded three companies: Cell Biosciences (now Protein Simple), Intellego, and Cell Microsystems.

1984

Hyam Levitsky, Med '84 (MD), is president of research and development at Century Therapeutics. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief scientific officer at Juno Therapeutics and was head of cancer immunotherapy experimental medicine at F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Levitsky was professor of oncology, medicine, and urology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and was the scientific director of the George Santos Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. He is a member of the board of directors of Replimune, Prokarium, and Carisma Therapeutics.

James L. Sherley, Med '84 (MD), '88 (PhD), is founder and director of Asymmetrex, a biotechnology company that innovates adult stem cell medicine technology for the manufacture of stem cells and their differentiated derivative cells for use in transplantation therapies and drug development. His book, Missing Elements in the Public Science Supporting the COVID-19 Spread Narrative in the U.S., was published in April 2022 by Cambridge Scholars.

Christopher Sims, Med '84 (MD), is co-founder, president, and managing partner of Altis Biosystems and is a professor in the departments of Bioengineering and of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, at the University of Washington in Seattle. He co-founded three additional companies, Cell Biosciences (now Protein Simple), Intellego, and Cell Microsystems.

1988

Riko Weimer, Peab '88 , developed her own teaching method for piano students and introduced her Riko Method to music educators in Budapest in 2019 and to educators at Monor Conservatory in Maryland and the University of Debrecen in Hungary in late summer.

1989

Michael Fenzel, A&S '89 , is a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and has served as the United States security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority since November 2021. He resides in Jerusalem. For his distinguished service, the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association recently gave Fenzel one of its annual public service awards.

1990

David Elkes, A&S '90 , is principal at McCoy Wyman, a Tampa, Florida, real estate company. He also is president of the Tampa Bay Lacrosse Officials Association and was named the 2022-23 Lacrosse Official of the Year by the Florida High School Athletic Association. He and his wife, Nancy Schnall Elkes, A&S '91 , reside in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Jack Hobaugh, Engr '90 (MS), is a shareholder in the Corporate & Business Department at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in the firm's Denver office. In this position, he focuses on technology transactions, cybersecurity law, and privacy law. He is an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and is the author of three books on cybersecurity law.

1991

Ketuh J. Patel, A&S '91 , is CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and president of CommonSpirit Health's Pacific Northwest division. He was nominated for the fifth consecutive year to Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.

1992

Elizabeth Cherot, A&S '92, Bus '16 (MBA), is senior vice president and chief medical and health officer at the March of Dimes. She leads the organization's office of maternal and child health impact, providing strategic directions and clinical expertise to help end the maternal and infant health crisis.

1993

Madhavi Subbarao Chandra, Engr '93 (MS), '98 (PhD), was promoted to chief product officer at Entrinsik in May. She has been with the company, which provides data analytics and business intelligence solutions, since 2014.

1994

Jenny Lin, A&S '94, Peab '98 (AD), is executive director of the 2024 Manchester Music Festival, during which the festival will mark its 50th anniversary season.

1996

Will Castleberry, Bus '96 (MS), is chair of the Maryland Economic Council, appointed by Gov. Wes Moore, A&S '01. He is head of Netflix's state regulatory and production policy team. He previously served as vice president of state policy and community engagement for Facebook and as vice president of state policy for AOL. He has served as an adjunct professor and currently serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at Carey Business School.

Michael Downs, Engr '96 , is a senior vice president for Toll Brothers land development group, covering Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan, and Illinois.

1997

Lorig Charkoudian, A&S '97 (MA), '01 (PhD), is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. She was the lead sponsor of the POWER Act, which was signed into law in April by Gov. Wes Moore, A&S '01. The law, Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources, sets a goal of producing 8.5 gigawatts of power by 2031. The law quadruples the state's previous offshore wind goal and is expected to create 12,000 jobs.

Jeffrey C. Fetter, A&S '97 , is a psychiatrist with Dartmouth Health and the chief medical officer of New Hampshire Hospital, the state's largest inpatient facility. He also is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. He was recognized in June by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as a NAMI Exemplary Psychiatrist, one of only four named in 2023.

2001

Mary Talalay, BSPH '01 (MPH), is tuberculosis research training director at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases. She leads the training of early-stage investigators in a number of programs, including SMART4TB (Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination) and RePORT. SMART4TB identifies more effective methods and tools for locating, treating, and preventing the disease in the U.S. Agency for International Development's 24 priority countries for TB programming.

2002

Charbel Barakat, A&S '02 , is vice president and chief regional counsel for D.R. Horton Inc., one of the nation's largest homebuilders. He is vice chair of the board of supervisors for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. He was appointed to that position by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis also appointed Barakat to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Committee. He resides with his wife and their two children in Tampa.

Chris Blakeslee, Bus '02, '08 (MBA), is president and CEO of Athleta, a women's active and lifestyle brand with a $1.5 billion portfolio.

2003

Derek N. Jantz, Med '03 (PhD), is chief scientific officer at Tune Therapeutics, pioneers of a new therapeutic modality that can fine-tune any gene network and unlock the power and potential of regenerative medicine. Jantz co-founded Precision Biosciences in 2006 and is the co-inventor of a novel method for modifying the DNA-recognition properties of the I-Crel homing endonuclease. He holds more than 50 patents related to gene editing, gene therapy, and cancer immunotherapy, and has written more than a dozen publications on gene editing.

Dan Snyder, Bus '03 (MBA), is vice president of the construction program at the American Iron and Steel Institute. He leads AISI's construction programs, including commercial buildings, codes and standards, and transportation and infrastructure. AISI's mission is to impact public policy, educate, and shape public opinion to support America's steel industry.

2004

Russell Berger, A&S '04 , is principal and general counsel at Offit Kurman, serves on its board of directors, and is a member of the senior management team. In addition to his role as general counsel, he continues to maintain his business and employment-focused practice, working out of the Columbia, Maryland, office.

Joseph W. Lewcock, Med '04 (PhD), is chief scientific officer and head of discovery at Denali Therapeutics.

2006

Elizabeth Gordon, Ed '06 (MAT), is a biology teacher at the Academy for College and Career Exploration, a public secondary school in Baltimore. She has been a teacher in the Baltimore City Public School System for 17 years. Gordon recently was selected a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, which sponsored her late summer 10-day expedition to the Galapagos Islands, where she engaged in professional development and personal encounters with wildlife.

2007

Ji Hye Jung, Peab '07 , is director of the percussion program at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. She and fellow percussionist Eric Cha-Beach, Peab '04, '05 (GPD), co-authored and arranged Korean Songs for Marimba, a collection of two- and four-mallet solo marimba études that celebrate and embrace Korean music. Cha-Beach is a member of the Princeton Performers-in-Residence Sō Percussion.

2008

Raffi Wartanian, A&S '08 , was appointed the first poet laureate of the city of Glendale, California. He also maintains a composition practice in writing and music and teaches writing full time at the University of California, Los Angeles.

2010

Mary Matthews, Peab '10 (MM), is assistant professor of flute at Florida State University's College of Music. She is an international soloist, chamber musician, orchestral flutist, and recording artist.

Helen Soln, Bus '10 (MBA), is vice president of proposal operations at Eqlipse Technologies, which provides products and high-end engineering solutions for Department of Defense and intelligence community customers. She builds, leads, manages, and evolves the company's proposal development center.

2015

Claire Galloway Weber, Peab '15 (MM), is the 2023–24 artist-in-residence at Bard College, where she assists with opera workshop production.

2016

Taylor-Alexis DuPont, Peab '16 (MM), a mezzo-soprano, appeared in the Glimmerglass Festival's Young Artists Program, starring in the world premiere of The Rip Van Winkles, a modern adaption of the story by Washington Irving. The production debuted in Cooperstown, New York, in August. DuPont also is one of three 2023 Lotte Lenya Competition winners.

2017

Falaq Roshan Lall, SAIS '17 , is an editor at openDemocracy and an associate lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. She also writes the weekly newsletter This Week, Those Books, in which she recommends fiction and nonfiction works that are relevant to the week's current events.

2018

Nathan Cicero, Peab '18 (MM), is resident pianist and chorus master for Opera Orlando's 2023-24 "All for Art" season. He was previously the 2022-23 artist-in-residence at the Pensacola Opera.

Gonzalo Farias, Peab '18 (GPD), is assistant conductor for the Houston Symphony. Previously, he was the David T. Bealls III Associate Conductor for the 2022-23 season at the Kansas City Symphony.

2019

Alex Amsel, Peab '19 (MM), is associate conductor of the Phoenix Symphony. He was previously 2022-23 resident conductor for the Houston Grand Opera.

2022

Bailey-Michelle Collins, Peab '22 (MM), won the bronze medal in the artists division of the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition, held in June. The competition was started by Awadagin Pratt, Peab '89 (PC), '89 (PC), '92 (GPD), with a grant from the Sphinx Organization.

Jess Huang, A&S '22 , sold her first book project to Bloomsbury Children's Publishing. The book is Infinite Sky and explores Chinese scientist Tsien Hsue-Shen's period in the United States, from his time as a student at MIT to his co-founding of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. The book is scheduled to be published in winter 2026.

Andrew Johnson, Peab '22 (MM), '23 (GPD), won the inaugural James M. Weaver Prize in Organ Scholarship, presented at the national convention of the Organ Historical Society in Toronto. The prize celebrates the convergence of scholarship and performance to tell the history of pipe organs in the United States and Canada.

Kaz Rafia, BSPH '22 (MPH), is chief health equity officer and executive vice president for CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a nonprofit organization with the mission of eliminating oral health disparities by advancing access, medical-dental integration, and centering equity in policy advocacy. Rafia has extensive clinical background and experience in nonprofit, academic, and state government, which he uses to lead CareQuest's programmatic initiatives, interoperability collaboratives, and grant-making portfolio.

2023

Jessica Figueroa, Bus '23 (MS), is associate director of business development at Elligo Health Research. After graduation, she relocated to Boston and was admitted to the advanced Master of Public Health program at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, which she began in late summer. She was awarded the Columbia Public Health Merit Scholarship.