60s
Connie Kolssak Evans (BS60) of Mooresville, N.C., a retired English teacher, is the author of a new children's book, Caw Caw Caughty, about the bonds between a grandmother and granddaughter.
Leslie Sewell (BS64) of Washington, D.C., executive producer of her own production company, The History Project, is developing three new documentaries: "Sex, Jazz and Politics" about turn-of-the-century New Orleans, "The Times of Clara Barton" and "Government Girls of World War II." An NBC Nightly News reporter/producer for 15 years, she lived in Madagascar in 2004 on an educational program to train broadcast journalists.
Deanna Olson Hartenberg (BS66) of Rockford retired at the time of Hurricane Katrina and sent 140 boxes of teaching supplies, manipulatives, resources and furnishings to a school in Moss Point, Miss. She was a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction and chair of the Golden Apple Teacher Academy; she is a member of the Northwestern Admissions Council and NU Club of Rockford.
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70s
Michael O'Hern (MA77) of New York is president of Christian Brothers Investment Services, which manages $4 billion for Roman Catholic organizations, using a socially responsible investment philosophy consistent with the church's teachings.
Megan Tschannen-Moran (BS78) of Williamsburg, Va., is on the faculty of Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership in the School of Education at the College of William and Mary. She recently published a book, Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools.BACK TO TOP
80s
William Stiers (MA80) of Cockeysville, Md., recently moved from the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City to Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, where he serves as a rehabilitation neuropsychologist specializing in stroke. BACK TO TOP
90s
William (Bill) Rando (PhD92) of New Haven, Conn., is dean's advisor on teaching and learning and director of the Graduate Teaching Center at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale University. Eva Gilboa-Schechtman (MA92, PhD93) is assistant professor of psychology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Courtney Holohan (BS95) of Chicago is a partner in the intellectual property department of Kirkland & Ellis. Her practice focuses on patent and trademark infringement litigation.
Dana Friedlander Katz (BS97) of Tarzana, Calif., is the director of development for the Children's Museum of Los Angeles. She was married in June 2005.
Maryam Ahranjani (BS98) of Washington, D.C., a member of the bar association of the District of Columbia, works for the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, which trains law students to teach elective courses in public high schools. She recently co-authored Youth Justice in America and is an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law.
Molly Thiersch (MS98) of Los Angeles achieved National Board Certification in November. The voluntary credential process involves a performance-based assessment that requires teachers to demonstrate how their activities improve student achievement.
Daniel Gill (MS99) of Evanston accepted a position as a full-time staff therapist at Northwestern's Family Institute, beginning in summer 2006. After his SESP/Family Institute education, he became a family therapist at the Jewish Children's Bureau. In September 2004 he married Northwestern alumna Rebecca Shereikis. BACK TO TOP
00s
Gretchen Caspary (PhD03) of Chicago is a senior research associate at the American Academy of Pediatrics, focusing on pediatric health with an emphasis on low-income families. Before September she was at the Maternal and Child Health Branch in the California Department of Health Services.
Jennifer Coyle (MA03) of Chicago works for Pearson School Technology as a business program manager. Promoted from Pearson Scott Foresman, she works with multiple business units within the Pearson Corporation to create educational technology solutions.
Samantha Huestis (BS03) is entering Case Western's clinical and pediatric psychology doctoral program.
Lucyna Klaczko-Bira (MA03) of Chicago is a senior instructional design consultant at TransUnion, where she collaborates with internal stakeholders to design, develop and deliver online learning for TransUnion's employees.
Shani Bechofer (PhD05) of Monsey, N.Y., accepted a position as assistant professor of educational administration at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education of Yeshiva University.
Christine Li-Grining (PhD05) won the American Education Research Association (AERA) Outstanding Dissertation Award for Early Education and Child Development.
Katherine Linsenmeier (MS05) of Evanston is teaching mathematics at New Trier High School in Northfield/Winnetka, Ill.
Laura Neff (MA05) of Denver, a graduate of the Learning Sciences program, is a first-grade teacher at a small private school in Denver, Montclair Academy.BACK TO TOP
An Alum With All The Angles
 Emily Kemp (MSEd02) has all the angles when it comes to the high-tech I, Bio life science curriculum developed at SESP. At Rachel Carson School on Chicago's South Side, Kemp teaches the inquiry-based I, Bio unit, which immerses her middle-school students in the biology of energy use. Meanwhile, as a teacher fellow at SESP, she has assisted in the design of the professional development course for I, Bio, and she teaches a course for teachers too. In addition, for her master's project, she examined her own teaching of I, Bio. "It's been great for me because I've been part of the whole process," says Kemp. "This is year six.". |
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Alum Jane Kerschner Leads Program to Stop Bullying
As director of school programs for the national nonprofit organization The Ophelia Project, Jane Kerschner (BS74) is dedicated to creating safe social learning environments for young people. The Ophelia Project serves as a catalyst to initiate long-term change in the social climates of schools and community organizations. Its research-based programming focuses on reducing peer aggression in schools and youth organizations. Educating teachers, administrators and parents about the issue is Kerschner's main focus. "I think leadership is the answer," she says.
From October 23 to 24, The Ophelia Project will host "Creating Safe Social Climates: It's About YOUth," a national conference in Evanston at the Hotel Orrington. Kerschner is working with SESP to develop a program for Northwestern students as part of the conference, and anyone interested in attending may call 888/256-5437.
Kerschner is proud that two of her daughters currently attend Northwestern. Kira Romansky is a junior in the School of Communication, and SESP alumna Jill Romansky McCulloch (BS01) is working toward her doctorate in psychology.
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